Bala approves N19.5m counterpart fund for World Bank assisted project
Samuel Luka, Bauchi
Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi state has announced the approval and subsequent release of N19.5 million counterpart funding for the World Bank assisted programme targeted towards alleviating poverty level in the state.
Gov. Bala disclosed this at the flagging off of the second cycle of 20, 416 beneficiaries of public work fare component of the Youth Employment and Social Support Operation, a World Bank assisted project held at the Multi-purpose Indoor Sports Hall in Bauchi.
He said the state government has keyed into the World Bank project due to the positive impact it has on the youth and women empowerment initiative, adding that for his administration to eliminate the involvement of youth in social vices, he would further focus attention towards ensuring their engagement in useful ventures.
The governor, who observed that no nation can develop if its citizens are living in poor conditions, assured that programmes geared at poverty reduction would be initiated by the state government.
He however, challenged the beneficiaries to make good use of the opportunity by providing services in their respective communities in exchange for the stipends that would be paid to them in line with the guidelines for the implementation of the public work fare component.
Speaking earlier, the Coordinator of the Programme, Alhaji Yahuza Adamu, disclosed that the public work fare beneficiaries were selected from 14 local government areas of the state.
According to him, approval has also been given to capture the remaining of the six local governments under the programme, explaining that the initiative was designed to support poor families to have access to job opportunities through providing social services to their communities.
Daily Times reports that the beneficiaries were selected from a social register that was generated through an extensive community based targeting process carried out by the state coordinating unit of the youth employment and social support programme.
