The World Bank Board of Executive Directors has approved a US$75
million concessional credit to the Federal Republic of Nigeria for
Growth and Employment Support Programme in Edo State .
The approved credit will be in the form of budget support similar to that which was extended to the State of Lagos in 2011.
A
statement from the World Bank said: “The credit has been provided in
recognition of critical policy and institutional reforms that the Edo
State Government has undertaken to improve management of public
resources in the implementation of an infrastructure-oriented
development strategy and creation of a better environment for growth and
employment generation through a more conducive investment climate and
higher quality of education.”
“Following the Board’s approval of a
similar credit for Lagos State last year, this marks yet another
milestone in Nigeria’s path to improving public service delivery through
improved governance at state level and therefore contributing to the
attainment of the Millennium Development Goals,” said Marie Francoise
Marie-Nelly, the World Bank Country Director for Nigeria.
She congratulated the state government for its commitment towards reforms and urged the authorities to stay the course.
Among
the reforms on improving the management of public resources include the
enactment of a public procurement law, sanitizing the payroll through
use of biometrics technology for identification, use of an integrated
financial management information system for budget management, improving
transparency in procurement through the publication of contracts
awarded, and strengthening external oversight by clearing the backlog of
audited financial statements. These policy reforms will ensure value
for money in the utilization of public resources.
Critical reforms
for improving the investment climate focus on establishing a platform
for a modern land information system that will be central to the process
of streamlining procedures for acquiring property rights. An improved
business climate is critical to attracting investors to Edo, and hence,
to generating growth and creating employment opportunities.
In
education, the state government has been working on improving the
quality of education so that the education system meets the demands and
needs of the employment market. One key reform undertaken aims at
improving governance at institutional level through the establishment of
school-based management committees (SBMCs) in technical and vocational
education institutions. SBMCs will ensure that communities are involved
in school decision-making, that will lead to improved student
achievement and other outcomes as the local people demand closer
monitoring of school personnel, better student evaluations, a closer
match between the school’s needs and its policies, and a more efficient
use of resources.
Besides, the state is also piloting an education
management information system to ensure that there is adequate,
accurate, and up to date information for planning, monitoring, and
implementation of policies and programs for improving the quality of
education.
“Apart from helping bridge a financing gap for us to
implement the critical infrastructure projects that Edo State needs to
stimulate growth and create employment opportunities, the reforms we
have been undertaking and which have been recognized by the World Bank
will ensure that the state obtains value for money in the utilization of
the funds,” said Adams Oshiomhole, the Executive Governor of Edo State.
The Nation
No comments:
Post a Comment