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INFORMATION ON DELTA STATEGovernment is also proactively engaging traditional rulers, chiefs, youth leaders, market women, and securityagencies to resolve conflicts, promote peace as well as sustainable development. In terms of developing oilproducing communities to reduce social tension and meet community expectations, Delta State Oil ProducingAreas Development Commission (DESOPADEC) was created with the mandate to promote physical andsocial infrastructural development in oil bearing communities with 50% of the monthly 13% derivation fundaccruing to the State.Human Capital DevelopmentA major development priority in Delta State is human capital development. The State has numerous policiesand programmes in place covering education, healthcare, potable water, sanitation, public utilities andempowerment to achieve rapid and sustainable economic development.A primary objective of the State is to provide accessible and affordable healthcare services with a view toincreasing life expectancy. To achieve this, government has introduced across the State free rural, maternal,and under-5 healthcare programmes as well as the establishment of new Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs)and hospitals including the Delta State University Teaching Hospital, Oghara.In the education subsector, policies, programmes and structures have been developed to ensure equity andaccess to educational opportunities by all Deltans. Government is pursuing programmes that will enhanceadequacy of schools. Some of the programmes in the education sub-sector include: re-opening of schools shutduring past ethnic crises; rehabilitation of dilapidated classrooms and construction of new ones; payment ofexamination fees for secondary school students; bursary schemes and subsidised fees for students of tertiaryinstitutions; expansion of instructional and infrastructural facilities in tertiary institutions; employment ofteaching and non-teaching staff; as well as training and retraining of staff.In the area of empowerment, the government has built several skills acquisition centres and initiatedprogrammes such as Delta Micro-credit Programme (DMCP), the Youth Empowerment through Agriculture(YETA) and other collaborative interventions with various local and international agencies/institutions. TheDelta Micro-credit Programme is a model in the country and has won the State several awards. It has so farpositively empowered many Deltans.Infrastructure DevelopmentInfrastructure is a major driver of economic growth and development. The State applies a higher percentageof her budgets to the implementation of strategic infrastructural projects. To this end, the State isimplementing a number of projects such as the Asaba International Airport; expansion of the Osubi Airport;the dualisation of the 150km Ughelli-Asaba highway and the 32km Koko-Ugbenu road; the establishment ofKoko Export Free Zone; and the Warri Industrial Business Park.Challenges of the FutureIn spite of the high potentials for growth and development, Delta State has numerous challenges which if nottackled could hamper prospects for future development. The major challenges are: Governance – Problems of security, maintenance of law and order and poor service delivery to meetexpectations. Corruption - Corrupt practices, poor accountability and transparency in the public and privatesectors. Overdependence on oil and gas – Leading to neglect of agriculture, commerce, industry and othernon-oil sectors.45