MPP9: We Reduce Poverty in Rural Communities

By Christian George

The Micro Projects Programmed in the nine Niger Delta States (MPP9) has reinstated its commitment to reduce poverty in rural communities of the Niger Delta region with the view to strengthening good governance with such communities.

Speaking with Century Newsfront in Uyo recently, the Team Leader of MPP9 for Akwa Ibom, Mrs. Imoh Ekott added that the micro projects programmed embarked upon by MPP9 are those which one could use an infinitesimal sum to finance.

Mrs. Ekott, a Socio-Economist said that each micro project MPP9 embarks upon is estimated at about N8million and that the team is very much  interested in projects that has to do with education, building of health and civic centers as well as repairs of roads in communities to ensure accessibility especially communities abundance of natural resources.

According to her, “MPP9 is a micro projects programmed that covers  the nine Niger Delta States that include Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Abia, Delta, Bayelsa, Imo, Edo, Rivers and Ondo States and the objective of the programmed is basically to reduce poverty in Rural Communities and also to strengthen good governance in these communities.

“When we talk about micro projects, it covers small project that we can use small amount to implement and each micro project is supposed to cost about N8million and we are looking at projects like classroom blocks, health centers, community market square, civic centres or renovation of local bridges to make for access routes bearing in mind that most communities actually have resources like agricultural produce but for road constraints, they may not be able to bring out such produce to Urban communities”. She said that the programmed also covers jetties, agro processing projects including palm oil, cassava, rice mills etc adding that MPP9 gives communities the liberty to chose the kind of projects that they feel they can manage.

Mrs. Ekott who was flanked by the Project Engineer, Imeh Inyang maintained that each state has not fewer than 133 projects added that for communities to benefit from such project, they had to apply based on the grants that such a community is in need of the project which will at list serve neibouring communities.

Also, she said that these projects are not sited for political reasons but to ensure that majority of the people could gain access as, according to her, if such projects are totally implemented without the commitment on the part of the community, they may not have value for it but that they have to contribute in one way or the other especially in taking accessions and participating in discussions pertaining to such projects so that they could know that the project belongs to them and they would mange it properly.

In her word, “if you carry a project and dash a community, because it is free nobody values that thing but where the people are able to contribute something, no matter how small and in what ever form, it becomes their own project and because these projects are identified by the community, they owe themselves the responsibility to put down some commitment so that from the beginning of the project to the end, the whole process is participatory they will remain committed to it.

The Team Leader added that the programmed would not also take up the whole projects alone as they would give 50% as grant which the local government and communities have to offer 25% each to ensure that the project is established for them.

The Programmed which are funded by the European Union in association with the Federal Government of Nigerian and Supervised by the National Planning Commission (NPC), she admitted that the purpose of MPP9 also include to support reforms resulting in local and state governments increasingly providing infrastructural services, income generating options, sustainable livelihood development gender equity and community empowerment through models of transparency and participation.

She also added that MPP9 is as a follow up to MPP6 which its development programmes are aimed at economic and social development of rural communities in the Niger Delta in response to their felt needs but through different approaches which the financial agreement was signed in September, 2007 between the European Commission (EC) and the Federal Government of Nigerian (FGN) for 45.5 million Euros.

She called on all local government areas to avail themselves of this programme by identifying areas of needs in various communities within their local government areas with an aim of alleviating the suffering of the people through a machinery of MPP9.

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