In Abia, 400 communities seek World Bank fund for projects

NO fewer than 400 ruralcommunities in Abia State have applied for theirrespective projects' funding from the World Bank.The projects are in collaboration with Abia State Agency for Community and Social Development Project (ACSDP).The funding would enable themexecute their chosen projects, which included water, electricity, VIP toilets, classroom blocks, civic and health centres.Under this programme, 59 communitieshave received N153 million directly betweenlast quarter of 2010 and now.The Guardian gathered that theminimum and maximum costs of the communities' chosen projects would be N2.3 million and N9 million respectively.A Mid Term Project Review meeting was held in Umuahia recently at the Kolping Conference Centre for the Communities' Project Management Committee members, Local Government Areas Committee Members, staff of Ministries, Departments and Agencies, representatives of theacademia, town unions executives, among others.Speaking at the meeting, the Executive Secretary of the State Planning Commission, Mrs. Uloma Uruakpa, on behalf of the people of the state, thanked the World Bank for partnering the state in the task of uplifting the socio-economic condition of the rural poor, the youth, women and the vulnerable group.Represented by Okezie Ezeigbo, the Executive Secretary who is also the Permanent Secretary inthe state's civil service, said that the state governmentresolved to sustainthis community-driven development project and described the mid term review exercise as a forum for stakeholders to bring to the fore, the challenges encountered, give insight to new ideas, lessons learnt and the way forward.'The review is an assessment orappraisal of the project effectiveness or otherwise that would determine whether or not to restructure some steps in theprocess that will make for improvement in the implementation to ensure sustainability' said the executive secretary.The ACSDP General Manager, Chinatu Njoku,said thatsince the project took-off effectively in April 2009, over 60 Community Development Projects (CDPs) had been approved. And that 59 communities had been trained and funded while 33 micro-projects have been completed and were already in use with 43 others on-going even as over 400 applications for funding were receiving attention.
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