The Anambra State Government has continued to strengthen its partnership with the World Bank to further finance development projects in the state.
Governor Willie Obiano said this at the Governor’s Lodge, Amawbia, when he received a team of World Bank officials led by Rachid Benmessaoud, the bank’s country director in Nigeria.
“The bank had intervened in funding projects in the education, agriculture and other critical sectors of the state’s economy,’’ Obiano said.
He particularly expressed happiness over the bank’s assistance in tackling some of the 975 erosion sites in the state.
Obiano emphasised that farmers in the state were now engaged in –all-the-year agricultural production due to the support received from the bank on irrigation projects.
“This administration will ensure the realisation of the noble objective of the bank through judicious use of funds and project implementation,’’ Obiano emphasised.
In a remark, Mark Okoye, Anambra commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, said that the World Bank was funding about 12 projects in the state annually.
Some of the programmes which the fund was being utilised are NEWMAP, Anambra State and Local Government Reform Project, ANSLOGOR, Anambra State Education Programme Investment Project, ANSEPIP, and Saving One million lives.
Others are Rural Electrification, Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Projects.
It was observed that the institution had in the past provided grants to the state government to the tune of about $140 million.
While assessing the Country Programme Portfolio Review, Benmessaoud announced that Anambra State emerged as the best in execution of development projects in the South-East and South-South.
Benmessaoud explained that Programme review was done annually in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Finance to appraise success of its interventions across the country.
He noted that the bank had deployed $10 billion in financing development projects in the country.
Benmessaoud said the review was primarily to ensure that the projects being funded were delivered to impact well on lives of citizens.