The Bayelsa State Government has assured the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Programme of its commitment to providing counterpart funding for critical development projects in the state.
The Deputy Governor, Dr Peter Akpe, gave the assurance on Wednesday when officials of RAAMP paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House in Yenagoa.
Akpe reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to infrastructure development, particularly the construction of roads and bridges, despite the state’s challenging terrain.
He said the government had adopted strategic partnerships with development organisations and institutions to execute key projects, noting that such collaborations had produced positive results.
According to him, RAAMP’s efforts to improve access to rural communities through road construction would complement the state government’s infrastructure programme and boost agricultural and socio-economic activities.
Akpe assured the RAAMP team that the state would meet outstanding conditions, including its counterpart funding obligations.
He also urged RAAMP and other development partners implementing counterpart-funded projects to take Bayelsa’s difficult terrain into consideration when preparing project budgets and plans.
The deputy governor said the state was constructing major roads across creeks and swampy areas to link local government headquarters, adding that the projects would open up more opportunities for agriculture and business.
“Your RAAMP Project is to take the roads to our farms. I believe that will boost or complement what we are already doing. And that is why we are jumping at it,” he said.
Earlier, RAAMP Team Lead and Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, Chinedu Olisah, disclosed that $600 million in donor funding was available for distribution among states that met the programme’s conditions.
He said $500 million of the fund was provided by the World Bank, while the Federal Government would contribute $100 million.
Olisah commended the Bayelsa Government for fulfilling some of the requirements, including constituting the boards of the Bayelsa State Rural Access Roads Authority and the State Road Fund.
He, however, appealed to the government to provide a take-off grant for the state RARA office and meet its counterpart funding obligations.