The CSDP is a project supported by the World Bank that offers grants to communities and at-risk groups to enhance their access to social and natural resource infrastructure services. Key focus areas of the project include education, healthcare, rural electrification, and additional services. The CSDP employs a Community Driven Development (CDD) strategy to allocate resources to these communities.
The programme operates based on the interest of the community. Thus, it solely depends on the EXPRESSION OF INTEREST by the community on what is desired to be executed as intervention not by the sentiment of the politicians.
However, what is currently happening in Zamfara goes against the modus operendi of the programme and the goals of the project are defeated.
From the onset at the takeover of Governor Dauda Lawal's administration all existing projects were halted even after the sum of 49 Billion Naira landed in the project coffers in June 2023, the funds which the administrative staff of the establishment had toiled to secure its release. With funds lodged in the fixed account, the existing community projects got stagnated.
As opposed to the outlined operational pattern as community-driven initiative, CSDP project got hijacked by the governor and the principle of community-based interest has been trampled. On 18th of October, 2024, swarms of governor's cronies, cabals and relatives were sent to claim project contracts with neither the normal community expression of interest nor following the right course of contract.
Moreover, the incompleted projects earlier started are still left unattended to despite all efforts to complete them. To cite example, there are schools and Community Health Center projects that in Igala Housing Estate that have been abandoned since 2023.
The CSDP staff are being treated with scorn even as their track record and the trajectory of their administrative performance have been excellent. Alas! These same staff has their hands tight as the meddlesomeness of the Zamfara State Governor have hindered their service. Even as obligatory as remuneration is, it is now irregular and epileptic with three months sometimes skipped without payment. As the October 2024 is rounding up, the Septemter salary is still hanging.
With the hijack and politisization of the CSDP projects, one wonders what the state government does with the monthly federal allocations as many of the CSDP and NG-Cares projects are made to look like they are executed by the state government.
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