Yemisi Izuora
The Anambra State Government has notified the Presidents General and Traditional Rulers in the 179 communities in the state as well as all other stakeholders that it is about to launch the third phase of the N20million Community-Choose-Your-Project Initiative.
The state Governor Willie Obiano has already set aside N20m for each of the 179 communities, amounting to N3.58 billion, for this phase.
According to C. Don Adinuba Commissioner for information in the state, Communities which have yet to complete the 2nd phase will, however, not participate in the third phase.
He said the state government observes that only 78 communities have completed the 2nd phase and are, therefore, ready to start new development projects in the third phase.
Adinuba said, “It is regrettable that about 50 per cent of communities have yet to finish the 2nd phase on account of mostly communal politics and squabbles. The internal politics and squabbles are slowing down the progress of not only the affected communities but also the entire state.
The Anambra State government is in a hurry to develop all communities in the state. Consequently, it is appealing to all Presidents General, Ndi Igwe and other stakeholders in the communities to ensure that their communities are not left behind. We call upon them to resolve their problems immediately and complete the 2nd phase of the Community-Choose-Your-Project Initiative.
The people and government of Anambra State are proud of this initiative which has brought concrete development to every community. It has been copied by some other states”.
The Commissioner stressed that the Community-Choose-Your-Project Initiative is an unprecedented development strategy by the Anambra State Government through which each of the 179 communities in the state selects a project it wants the government to execute for it worth N20m.
“The community even chooses the contractor who must come from the area while the government provides the resources. Communities have chosen libraries, civic centres, health centres, markets, water boreholes, etc.
The strategy has earned praise from researchers and development experts as a perfect example of the bottom-top approach to development which is recommended in the democratic setting, as opposed to the traditional top-down style which sees top government officials decide projects for communities without bothering to find out what the communities actually want or need”, Adinuba said.