By Muhammad Haruna Bello
Yobe State Government has benefited over seven billion Naira from African Development Bank.
The Programme Manager of African Development Bank, Engr Musa Haruna Chalimno said this during the launch of first special edition of Yobe AfDB Magazine held at the Programme Hall in Damaturu.
He said; “Yobe benefited over seven billion Naira from the AfDB since the agreement signed by the African Development Bank, Federal Government and Yobe State Government on 23rd September, 2008 and the first disbursement was received from the bank on 3rd July, 2009”.
According to him, “Yobe received the lion share of the money because of its high level of needs to address the challenges of the unhealthy contaminated water particularly in rural communities.
“In spite of the insurgency challenges faced in the cause of the implementation of the programme, remarkable progress has been recorded in 15 local governments. Unfortunately, Gujba and Gulani are yet to benefit because of the insecurity but they will soon have their own share as the security has continued to improve in the area,” he added.
The manager said that “over 1000 rural communities have benefited 310 Hand Dug Wells, 841 Hand Pump and 490 Mechanized/Motorized Boreholes”.
He added that “2,460 VIP latrines were provided in 160 schools and 43 markets, construction has reached 95% level of completion”.
To ensure sustainability of the facilities provided, “1,240 water, sanitation and hygiene committees (WASHCOMS) were formed to ensure that all the facilities installed in the rural areas are safe, maintained and protected”.
Training
On training, he said “over 200 personnel in various fields to handle state water sector, LGAs and members of benefiting communities were adequately trained in various fields in a train-the-trainer programme”.
In addition, “11,284 people were trained on community management sustainability training for facilities already provided in 15 LGAs while Gujba and Gulani would be supported soon”.
He added that “institutional capacity for the water sector and local governments WASH units were built through procurement of Information Technology (IT), operational and office equipments as well as supplies to improve performance in the implementation of water, sanitation and hygiene projects and sustainability in the state.
Also, “support was provided to indigenous private drillers and training in the areas of bidding and contract management” he said.
In its efforts to establish synergy and widen the scope and horizon of good practices and experience, the programme manager said that “study tours to learn good practices and share experience in WASH activities were made to Ghana, Ethiopia, Uganda, Morocco and Mali”.
He added that “44 project and water sector staff attended overseas conferences and training to learn latest developments and technology in WASH activities worldwide including; Netherlands, Italy, Thailand, Dubai, India, South Africa, United Kingdom, Kenya, Burkina Faso and Cote d’ Ivoire”.
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