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Delta State Oil Producing Area Development Commission has so far completed 790 people oriented projects since its inception.
Announcing this at the Economic Dashboard meeting where activities of ministries and departments are being critically scrutinized in Asaba the state governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan outlined the projects completed to include school buildings, water schemes as well as hospitals and health centres.
Dr Uduaghan disclosed that DESOPADEC had no abandoned projects since it stopped the payment of mobilization to contractors and commended the organisation for being focused.
He however charged the commission to create an ICT database and a monitoring unit which would serve as a self-assessment organ as it would scrutinize and monitor project execution at all times.
‘’DESOPADEC is doing well even though there are short falls because so far the commission has executed 790 projects to address the problems of oil producing areas,” he said.
Dr Uduaghan also charged the commission to sponsor more scholarship programmes to promote competition, academic excellence and the Human capital development programme of the state government.
The governor charged the commission to design a three-year funding plan so that in the long run release of funds for the execution of projects would not be a problem.
‘’DESOPADEC should as a matter of deliberate policy design a three-year funding plan so that when it is executing projects it will not have problems. This is because the state House of Assembly will be aware of the funding plan and allocate resources accordingly.’’
Reviewing the activities of the ministry of women affairs the governor charged social workers and psychologists in the ministry to carry out advocacy on how healed lepers would be integrated into their communities.
He said for now it was difficult for healed lepers to live together with their people in their communities because of the stigmatization.
The governor said it was therefore imperative for social workers to harp on the safety of mixing up with healed lepers as they were no longer contagious.
He said it was demoralising for healed lepers to be stigmatized because once a leper was healed nobody could contact the disease from such a person.
‘’I want psychologists and social workers to do their jobs well and carry out advocacy on how lepers can return to their communities and live among their people because for now people stigmatize them and they will feel psychologically dejected. Our social workers should therefore move into the communities and allay fears that once a leper has been cured such persons cannot infect others,” Dr. Uduaghan said.
The governor however commended the Ministry of Women Affairs for rehabilitating 1,720 physically challenged people.
He said the effort would go a long way to address the problems of the physically challenged in the state especially those who roam the streets begging for alms.
Dr Uduaghan therefore charged the physically challenged to use the opportunity of their rehabilitation to improve their living standard
