35 Abia communities get N104m for rural development

The Abia State Agency for Community and Social Development Project (CSDP) has given out N104.2 million to 35 communities from across the 17 local government areas of the state for community-based developmental projects. The projects which range from markets, roads, toilets, electricity and health centres, among others, are part of a partnership between the state government and World Bank aimed at upgrading the rural areas to curb urban drift.


The cheques of various amounts was given to 35 benefitting communities for their infrastructural development which is based on counterpart funding as the communities are expected to provide 10% of the total contract sum while CSDP will provide 90%.
 The projects in all the communities are always discussed by all members of the community and they also contribute the money for the 10% counterpart fund, this makes them joint owners of the project and also enables them to guard the project jealously.

It is expected that all the projects which the additional financing were presented are all based on the need of each benefitting communities and will be completed before the end of December this year. Speaking at the ceremony in Umuahia, the general manager of AbiaCSDP, Dr Chinatu Njoku said that the agency was established by World Bank as one of the portfolios aimed at empowering communities and local governments to sustainably increase access of poor people to social and natural resource infrastructure.

Njoku said that the projects are chosen by the communities, plan, part-finance, implement, monitor and maintain which are socially inclusive, “Therefore the projects are driven by the communities while the agency provides 90% of the project cost and the communities just 10%”. He said that the issuing of cheques to the benefitting communities are just additional funds as they had earlier been given funds that enabled them to commence their different projects but had to stop because the state did not pay its counterpart fund to the World Bank.

 The Abia CSDP boss said, “The CSDP prior to the additional financing intervened in 119 communities through funding of their developmental plans, 201 micro-projects were completed and the completed projects vary from community to community according to their needs”.

 In his welcome address the board chairman of Abia CSDP Chief Chijioke Onwutuebe said that the agency is of the state government established to sustainably increase the access of the poor to social and natural resources infrastructure in a sustainable manner. Onwutuebe said that the additional financing came as a result of the success achieved by CSDP and is a continuation of a successful partnership between the World Bank, federal government and Abia state government.

He said, “Our thanks goes to the state government that made it possible for the additional financing to take-off in the state when other states were still battling with the decision to join in the venture”. “It is on record that our governor was the first in the federation to pay the mandatory state contribution and fulfil other conditions as stipulated by the World Bank for CSDP additional financing effectiveness”.

In his opening remarks the chairman of the occasion and Vice Chancellor of Abia State University, Prof Uche Ikonne said that the exercise is a continuous one which the administration of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu has inherited with the aim of making the rural areas habitable.

 Prof Ikonne said that Ndigbo are known for their community development projects which the current government is assisting the various communities to achieve, stressing that the idea will help to reduce urban drift once the social amenities are provided. Speaking while handing over the cheques to the benefitting communities, the state governor, Dr Ikpeazu said that his administration is proud with what the CSDP has been able to achieve in his time.