Bayelsa deputy governor, Dr. Peter Akpe, has reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to meeting its counterpart funding obligations for development projects and programmes.
Akpe gave the assurance, when officials of the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Programme (RAAMP) paid him a visit at Government House, Yenagoa.
He said the Diri administration remained committed to infrastructural development, particularly road and bridge construction, to improve connectivity across the state.
He said the government has adopted strategic partnerships with development organisations and institutions to execute critical projects, adding that the approach has yielded positive results.
Akpe explained that RAAMP’s intervention in providing access roads to rural communities and improving agricultural activities would complement the government’s ongoing infrastructure development efforts.
He noted that the programme would help connect farms and hinterland communities to the state capital, thereby boosting agriculture, trade and other socio-economic activities.
The deputy governor urged RAAMP and other development partners to consider Bayelsa’s difficult terrain when preparing budgets and project plans to ensure equity and fairness.
He said the state was constructing roads and bridges across rivers, creeks and swamps despite the challenging terrain.
‘Nevertheless, we are building major roads in the creeks to link local government headquarters, and that is opening up our state for agriculture and business,’ he said.
Akpe added that RAAMP’s focus on providing roads to farms would complement the state’s existing infrastructure programme, describing the initiative as one the government was eager to embrace.
Earlier, RAAMP Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, Mr Chinedu Olisah, said $600 million in donor funds was available for distribution among states that meet the programme’s participation conditions.
Olisah said $500 million of the fund will come from the World Bank, while the Federal Government will provide the remaining $100 million.
He commended Bayelsa for meeting several RAAMP requirements, including the constitution of the boards of the state Rural Access Roads Authority (RARA) and the State Road Fund (SRF).
Olisah, however, appealed to the government to provide a take-off grant for RARA, consider merging the RARA and SRF offices, and meet its counterpart funding obligation to enable Bayelsa to fully participate in the programme.