Anambra State has been ranked as the best state in the South
East of Nigeria that has mapped out clear, comprehensive and implementable
strategies to fight poverty in the country.
The ranking was unanimously agreed upon by participants at a
regional dissemination workshop on pro-poor growth, unemployment and poverty in
Nigeria organized by the Development Strategy Centre, Enugu, in partnership
with African Economic Research Consortium and UKaid.
The participants were particularly impressed with the
various measures put in place by the Anambra State government to fight poverty
in the state using a solid agrarian policy and creation of enabling environment
for economic growth and infrastructure development. They also commended the
state government for the establishment of the state Investment Promotion and
Protection Agency (ANSIPPA) and the state Small Business Agency (ASBA)
which, they identified, as agencies through which over fifteen thousand jobs
have been created by direct foreign and local investments as well as granting
of soft loans to small scale farmers and cooperatives.
Speaking at the workshop which theme was "Pro-poor
growth, Poverty and Unemployment in Nigeria: the South East Challenge" the
Secretary to the Anambra State Government (SSG) Prof Solo Chukwulobelu told the
audience which included the former minister of power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo and
who moderated the discussion session of the workshop, that the state government
recognized quite early the enormous challenges posed by poverty and
unemployment in the state.
He stated that it was for this reason that the Obiano
administration, on assumption of office, developed a blueprint for rapid
transformation of the state. Key on the blueprint, he said, was the pursuit of
four pillars of development among which agriculture was number one. These
pillars of development, which include: industrialization, trade and commerce
and oil and gas, according to the Professor, are being propelled by twelve
other enablers as security, education, health, youth entrepreneurship,
infrastructure development, public utilities and environment.
Other initiatives employed by the state government as the
SSG told the audience, include the establishment of ASBA which has empowered
over 2000 small scale farmers and cooperatives by giving them soft loans and
the establishment of a road maintenance agency that employs over 250 young men
and women.
Earlier while presenting a study report carried out by the
centre on poverty and unemployment challenges in the south east, the Managing
Partner of the Centre, Mr Cosmas Ohaka identified lack of activist industrial
policy, multiple taxation, poor leadership among others as factors responsible for
the prevailing poverty in the South East. He recommended regional networking,
revitalization of ailing industries and establishment of regional
infrastructure as railways, energy and water provision as crucial to ending
poverty and unemployment in the south east.
The moderator of the discussion segment of the workshop and
former minister for power, Prof Chinedu Nebo commended the organizers of the
workshop for the very instructive research work backed by invaluable
information on the way forward to fight poverty and unemployment in the south
east states of the country.
By Emeka Ohuoha.
