ENSG vows to meet MDG targets
Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State has affirmed his determination
to sustain the measures being put in place by his administration to
meet the target set in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
programmes in the state.
The governor gave the affirmation through his deputy, Mr. Sunday
Onyebuchi in an address when the Senior Special Assistant to the
President on MDGs, Dr. Mrs. Precious Kalamba Gbeleon paid a courtesy
call at the Government House, Enugu.
The governor noted that his administration takes the MDG programme
seriously and on assumption of office designed programmes to ensure
its success in the state.
According to the governor, the administration established a full
fledged Ministry of Human Development and Poverty Reduction and
launched free Maternal and Child Health Care delivery programme in the
state to address the issue of poverty and unemployment and reduced
maternal and child mortality.
He also added that the state launched free primary and junior
secondary education which had led to increase in school enrollment in
the state and appointed women into various top political and
administrative positions.
The Governor commended the President's Aid for the passion she has for
the programme which necessitated her moving to various state in the
country to interact with the stakeholders on way forward.
He informed Dr. Gbeleon that the fund her office had been releasing to
the state for the programme was judiciously utilized.
The Governor, however, regretted that financial allocation to the
state is far less when compared with what other states in the zone
receive, enjoining her to address the imbalance and increase her
office allocation to the state.
He recalled with dismay that request made to the SSA's office for
financial assistance to the state for the provision of water to
enhance the implementation of the programme in the state did not
receive any positive response.
Governor Chime observed that the state government is executing a good
number of water projects in the state but regretted that replacing
water pipes laid many years ago in the state is capital intensive,
enjoining the Senior Special Assistant to assist the state to continue
to deepen the relationship exiting between it and her office.
Earlier in an address, Mrs. Gbeleon noted that her office has been
partnering with the state since 2006 and has built an appreciable
relationship in the execution of Millennium Development Goal projects
in parts of the state.
The President's Aid gave breakdown of fund sent to the Enugu state
government and some local government councils in the state for the
implementation of Millennium Development Goals in the state and
commended the state/local governments for prompt payment of their
counterpart funds.
According to her, the sum of over one billion naira counterpart fund
was released to the state in 2011 for the execution of Health,
Education, Water and Sanitation projects in Isi-Uzo, Igbo-Etiti and
Aninri council areas of the state.
Also in 2012, one hundred million naira each was given to four (4)
local government areas in the state for the execution of projects
including animal husbandry, social safety network, healthcare and
poverty eradication.
The four local government areas are Nkanu East, Ezeagu, Uzo-Uwani and Oji River.
The SSA to the President explained that the MDG projects in the
country will wind down in 2015, adding that the sum of one hundred and
fifty million naira counterpart is for the programme in 2013 in six
local government councils in the state and enjoined the state to fast
track the implementation of the programmes in the state, as release of
more fund by her office is dependent on judicious and timely
implementation of the programme. She called on all communities that
are beneficiaries to the programme to own all projects in their areas
and suggested the inclusion of more local government areas in the
project in the state in future.
She enumerated benefit recorded by the programme as protection of
women and child right, extreme poverty reduction, child right
education and putting food on the tables of the people, among others.