2025 Persons Benefit From MDG Cash Transfer In Borno

The Borno office of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) has said on that it had so far captured 2,025 persons in its Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) scheme aimed at tackling acute poverty in the state.

Borno MDG-CCT Focal Person, Mr Stephen Pakshar, made this known at an Entrepreneurship Training Program in Maiduguri on Tuesday that the beneficiaries were selected from five Local

Government Areas (LGA) of the state.
He pointed out that each beneficiary was paid N5,000 monthly as cash transfer for 12 months under the scheme.

``We have so far captured a total of 2, 025 members of household in five LGAs in the CCT scheme in Borno.The LGAs are - Kaga, Magumeri, Ngazai, Gubio and Guzamala,'' Pakshar said.

He added: ``The scheme is meant for poor people within the community, so it is a way of alleviating poverty, to bring them out of inter-generation poverty that has alleviated most people in the

country.
``We call it Conditional Transfer because we transfer cash to individuals based on conditions''.

Pakshar said that the beneficiaries were expected to allow members of their households attend either primary or secondary schools under the scheme.

``Also women are to attend Anti-Natal care when they are pregnant,'' he said.

Pakshar said that the training was aimed at providing skills to the beneficiaries, so that they can generate income on their own after the scheme.

`The training is to equip the beneficiaries with certain skills so that they can generate income on their own at the end of 12 months.

``In essence it is to make sure that they will be able to maintain the status they have now attained under the CCT,'' he said.

Also speaking, Alhaji Abba Kale, the Chairman of the Kalef Ventures, organizers of the training said that the objectives was to train themon`Entrepreneurship training as the first step towards attaining self

employment through Small Scale Industries .
``Countries like United States, China, Brazil among others have attained sustained economic growth through Small Scale Industries,''

Kale said.
He said that his company had successfully trained about 300 youths from Borno and Yobe under the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in

Nigeria (SMEDAN) and advised the beneficiaries to take seriously the lessons at the training so that they can be self employed.