BusinessDay 17 Apr 2018

Tuesday 17 April 2018
BUSINESS DAY
THE BIG HEART DIGEST
In association with Delta State Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Developement Agency (DEMSMA)
27
People with Disability in Delta: Migrating from
blocking roads to successful entrepreneurs
MERCY ENOCH, Asaba
The Job and Wealth
Creation Programme
of Governor Ifeanyi
Okowa’s administration
is not just for able
bodied persons but also for persons
with the disabilities (PwD),
thus out of the 3,069 beneficiaries
of the Skills Training and
Entrepreneurship Programme
(STEP) and Youth Agricultural
Entrepreneurs Programme
(YAGEP), 80 are persons with
disabilities (PwD).
Like the able bodied youths,
the PwD are now to run their
choice enterprises. Fifty-one of
them had been trained and established
in the 2016/2017 cycle
of the programme while 29 persons
partaking in the 2017/2018
cycle have just ended a one day
orientation course organized by
the Office of the Chief Job Creation
Officer of the state, last week.
The 29 PwD who are of the
STEP would now commence
their three months to six months
training depending on their enterprise,
using the Community
Base Vocational Rehabilitation
(CBVR) Model Approach in
which each trainee is attached
to a relevant trainer within their
respective communities of residence
and provided with an
interpreter where necessary to
facilitate learning within the
stipulated period.
Thereafter, they would be
established to own and run their
own enterprises as well as be
able to train and employ other
youths.
The Commissioner for Ministry
of Women Affairs, Community
and Social Development,
Omatshola Williams, a reverend,
speaking in a interview shortly
after the orientation course, said
what is happening is a complete
turn-around from what obtained
in the state in the past.
“Before I came on board, this
category of people didn’t have
this type of attention because
what I learnt from them then,
2018 BUDGET ESTI-
MATES
The governor first
gave the budget estimates:
Mr. Speaker,
distinguished
Members of this honourable
House, I now present to you
the Budget Estimates for the
2018 fiscal year.
I wish to announce
was that they go and block road
so that they are recognized. By
force, they collect money. Some
able people encourage them
to do it so that they would get
money but when government
gave them money, the able people
collect it”, said Williams who
became the boss of the ministry
since the inception of Okowa’s
administration.
She frowned at such attitude
of the able persons against PwD,
saying “That is wickedness! You
cannot thrive on this vulnerable
group of people because you are
able. No! And that is why we say
that in every disability there is
ability.”
She noted that one of the
functions of her ministry is to
rehabilitate the vulnerable in
the society. According to her,
the rehabilitation department
takes care of the PwD, “Under
PwD, there is deaf and dumb, the
physically challenged, the blind,
the ex-pals, that is people who
have been treated for leprosy.
There are also those with central
nervous problem”.
“Now, you discover that the
resource person in this orientation
course is a person with
central nervous system problem.
She is a masters’ holder and you
heard her presentation. The
essence of that presentation is
that when other people with disabilities
listen to her, they would
have a rethink about their own
lives”, she said.
“There are some of them that
are intelligent, I’m sure you heard
when the chairman of the Joint
National Association of Persons
With Disabilities (JONAPWDs)
was talking of his own life history.
He was written off but today, he
talks with people intelligently
and manages people”, Williams
added.
Williams had while declaring
the orientation course open, said
that the inclusion of PwDs into
the job creation programme is in
fulfillment of Governor Okowa’s
promise of prosperity for all
Deltans in line with his cardinal
agenda of “Strategic Wealth Creation
and Provision of Jobs for all
Deltans.”
She affirmed that the orientation
programme was to
enlighten the trainees towards
the smooth implementation of
the programme so as to achieve
the desired results.
She enjoined them to take the
orientation course seriously and
warned that any trainee who is
either uncontrollable or reported
to be absent from his training
centre will be de-listed from the
programme.
The Chief Job Creation Officer,
Eric Eboh, reiterated the
state government’s commitment
to the welfare of PwD, adding
that their inclusion in the job
creation programme was to
equip them with the necessary
knowledge and skills required
to make them self-reliant and
business managers.
Eboh, a professor, reaffirmed
that they would be given starter
packs after their training period
to establish their own enterprises
and would be paid a monthly stipend
of N10,000 within the three
to six months training duration.
While informing them that
the Directorate of Youth Monitoring
and Mentoring (DYMM)
Editorial coordinator’s corner:
Understanding Delta’s 2018 fiscal direction:
IGNATIUS CHUKWU
A cross-section of PwDs at the Orientation Programme
HCDWCSD, Rev Omatshola Williams, and resource person,
Celine osukwu, and PwDs
would regularly visit them to
monitor their progress throughout
the programme, he charged
them to uphold discipline and
hard work at all times.
The state chairman of JON-
APWD, Isaac Ogbruche, lauded
the kind gestures of the state
governor, for running an allinclusive
government. He tasked
the beneficiaries to make good
use of the opportunities so as
to become self-reliant and to
encourage the government to
continue with the programme.
Recall that Gov Okowa during
a luncheon with the JONAPWD
at the end of last year assured
them that a directorate would
be created this year 2018 to manage
their affairs. Besides other
promises, he assured them that
a special school for the PwD to
acquire entrepreneurial and
technical skills would be established
in the state.
The governor wants them to
aspire for success in life as according
to him, “disability does
not take life away from you, you
can be a success story.” He wants
them to start little, work harder
and become entrepreneurs and
employ others.
How we will spend the money: Recurrent & Capital
a budget proposal of
N298.078bn for the services
of Delta State Government
in 2018. This amount comprises
the sum of N147.5bn
or 49.48% for recurrent
expenditure, and N150.5
or 50.52% for capital expenditure.
The summary is
as follows:
SOURCES OF FUND
The main sources of funds
for the 2018 budget as pro-
posed are as follows:
RECURRENT:
The proposed recurrent
The main sources of funds for the 2018
budget as proposed are as follows:
expenditure estimates for
2018 of N147.5bn is made
up of personnel costs of
N64.3bn or 43.36%, and
overhead costs of N46.8bn
or 31.56%. The Consolidated
Revenue Fund Charges
has a proposed sum of
N37.23bn or 25.09%.
CAPITAL EXPENDI-
TURE ESTIMATES
The proposed capital expenditure
estimates for 2018
is N150.6bn. The proposal
is N14.1bn or 9.39% higher
than the 2017 capital budget
of N136.4bn.
Why we want
Okowa to
continue till
2023 – Online
Coalition
MERCY ENOCH, Asaba
As a proof that Delta
State Governor,
Ifeanyi Okowa-led
SMART agenda is
touching the lives of millions
of Deltans, a group known as
Senator Ifeanyi Okowa Online
Coalition have resolved to
raise fund to purchase nomination
form for the governor
to be re-elected to occupy
the number office of the state
till 2023
Okowa-led administration
has continued receive allround
endorsement from well
meaning individuals, groups,
nationally and internationally
recognized institution most of
who end up seeking for areas
to assist the governor to succeed
in his programmes and
policies.
Just last November, Okowa
while presenting the 2018
budget to the state’s house of
assembly, announced that
the World Bank’s Employment
and Expenditure for Result
(SEEFOR) had given its endorsement
to the Job Creation
Programme.
This position was made
stronger as the World Bank
was present at the Business
Fair and Product Exhibition
held in the state capital last December
by the beneficiaries of
the Job Creation Programme,
that is the STEPrenuers and
YAGEPreneurs trained and
established by the state government
to run their own
enterprises.
The international body
at the occasion, pledged its
commitments to partner with
the state government because
of the SMART agenda which
thrust is to ensure prosperity
for all Deltans.
The result of that pledge is
that since this year 2018, the
world body has commenced
its partnership with the state
in the training and establishing
the jobless youths in the state
in line with SMART agenda.
Now, ahead of the 2019
general elections, members
of Senator Ifeanyi Okowa Online
Coalition who endorsed
him for a second term in office
(2019-2023), said they
observed that the track record
of programmes and project delivery
by Gov Okowa has made
the campaign for his continuation
in office an easy job.
The group made the resolve
at a meeting in Asaba, last
week, where android phones
and laptops worth millions of
naira were given to its members.