ASABA/Nigeria: The Delta State Commissioner for Economic Planning, Dr Kingsley Emu, has applauded the World Bank and the European Union for their partnership with the Delta State Government towards driving critical infrastructural and human capital development, especially youth empowerment in the state.
Dr Emu, who made the commendation in his remarks at the World Bank/SEEFOR implementation support mission to Delta state, noted that the state government through the SEEFOR intervention had recorded giant strides and thanked the World Bank for the opportunity.
He reiterated that the state government would continue to sustain the SEEFOR programme.
In his remarks, the World Bank Lead Financial Management Specialist, Governance Global Practice, Parminder Brar, said that Delta State had performed beyond expectation on the implementation of the SEEFOR intervention in the state.
Mr Brar stated that available records and statistics had shown that Delta SEEFOR project was very crucial and important to the people of the state for their overall wellbeing as a result of the high rate of their involvement in intervention.
The World Bank Team Leader disclosed that the Delta State SEEFOR Project had achieved performance rate of 97% success on youth empowerment, adding that the state had performed more than its targets in this area.
While acknowledging that the project had also recorded success in the area of Community-Driven Development, Mr Brar reiterated that more needed to be done in order to enable more people and communities benefit from the initiative.
The Project Coordinator, Delta SEEFOR Project, Mr Frank Apokwu in an interview with newsmen, said that the essence of the mission visit was for the World Bank officials to evaluate what had been achieved since the last visit to the state and find out areas where they needed to strengthen the project.
Mr Apokwu said that a total of 3,143 youths had been trained in entrepreneurship and money management skills within the period under review, saying that beneficiaries who were employed under the public works had constructed 10.2Km of roads in asphalting, pavement and concrete.
He further disclosed that over 70% of the Private Sector Participants (PSPs) had been engaged through the project for waste collection in six selected cities in the state, adding that under the TVEAT component a total of 733 beneficiaries had been trained on short term vocational enterprises.
