Akwa Ibom soars at World Bank’s RAAMP”s Mission
Authorities of the World Bank (WB), French Development Agency (AFD) and the Federal Project Management Unit (FPMU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP) have given Akwa Ibom Government a pat on the back for her prompt placement of the bill for the establishment of a Rural Road Agency (RARA) and State Road Fund (SRF) in the House of Assembly for consideration and passage into law.
The action was one of the conditions for further release of funds, after the initial tranche by the World Bank and French Development Agency within 18 months of implementation of RAAMP by states participating in the project to guarantee their eligibility for more funds, as contained in the Subsidiary Loan Agreement (SLA).
National Coordinator of RAAMP, Engr. Aminu Mohammed gave the commendation recently during the joint World Bank and French Development Agency 4th RAAMP Implementation Support Mission held at Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, adding that out the 13 participant states, Kebbi House of Assembly had taken the lead by successfully passing the bill into law earlier in September; 10 states, including Akwa Ibom had placed the bill before their respective Houses of Assembly, while two states were still at the legal review stage, yet to send the bill to the legislature.
Engr. Mohammed commended the various states which had been swift in their actions and urged others that had not lived up to redouble their efforts for best results. He further applauded the states on based on their levels of successes in the procurement of works and consultancies; goods and services as well as financial records keeping and related matters, among other things, while cautioning them to guard against issues that could lead to misprocurement under any guise.
On his part, the World Bank Task Team Leader, TTL, Engr. Olatunji Ahmed commended the State Project Monitoring Committee, SPMC chairman of Akwa Ibom RAAMP, Prof Edet Udoh for his regular inputs during the mission over the years as well as the Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Offiong Offor, whose ministry the project is domiciled in Akwa Ibom and urged other states to queue behind them.
He described the mission as very strategic, considering the ground breaking / official launching of the project in about a fortnight, as he applauded Katsina RAAMP for being the first state to award contract for physical construction works under the project.
Other World Bank team members – Engr. Gbenga Babalola, Okwudili Ikejani, Mukhtar Abdulkarim and Abel Lufafa harped on teamwork, transparency, diligence and increased knowledge about the project, pointing out that 87 percent of rural roads across the country were in various stages of deplorable conditions of which RAAMP is a hurry to alleviate.
In her remarks, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Offiong Offor, thanked the State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel for expediting action on the placement of RARA and SRF bill before the State House of Assembly, reasoning that “the action was a demonstration of His Excellency’s special interest in a seamless implementation of RAAMP in Akwa Ibom State.”
She thanked the World Bank and French Development Agency for having the plights of rural communities in mind while conceiving the project and further thanked the Federal Project Management Unit, FPMU for their support to Akwa Ibom without which the state would not have grown under the project to her current height.
Also speaking, the State Project Monitoring Committee chairman, Prof Edet Udoh urged the World Bank and leadership of RAAMP to fast-track the process towards the commencement of physical construction works, pointing out that the respective State Project Implementation Units, SPIUs across the country were under pressure by their governments, some of which would be ending their tenures due to the current transition process to elect new leaders vis-à-vis the protracted period before the project became effective in the first instance and beginning of actual civil works.
In his presentation, the State Project Coordinator, Pastor Gideon Akpan enumerated the achievements of Akwa Ibom RAAMP to include signing of contracts for consultancy services for Design Review and Supervision of Demonstration Road; Design and Supervision Consultancy Services for 250km Backlog Maintenance/Rehabilitation roads as well as Consultancy Services for Design and Supervision of 600km Spot Improvement and 100 Linear Metres Cross -Drainage Structures. The presentation also indicated that two technical assistants, TAs on Infrastructural Engineering and Security had been successfully engaged, while efforts were being advanced towards enduring the award of contract for Upgrading / Construction of the 11 km Demonstration Road (Owot Uta-Nung-Oku Ekere-Afaha Udoe Eyop-Ede Obon Utuat market junction road) before the end of the year. Other success stories were also recorded under procurement of non – consultancy services, fiduciary and safeguard activities, among other accomplishments.
RAAMP is an interventionist development project, with funding by the World Bank and French Development Agency, while the Support Mission is a bi-annual assessment exercise by the project leadership to evaluate the progress made in the course of implementation with a view to adding verve to areas of strength, proffering solutions to identified issues and setting new targets for states participating in the scheme for overall best results.
