By Francis Akinnodi

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The recently launched Ondo State COVID Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (ONDO-CARES) would tremendously mitigate the effects of COVID-19 and set the state on motion for quick social and economic recovery across the 18 local councils.

Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Pastor Emmanuel Igbasan, disclosed this when speaking with The Hope in Akure.

He revealed that $20m were given to each 36 states of the federation including the FCT by the World Bank with 80,734 beneficiaries from Ondo State.

Igbasan why insisting that the state had a credible and reliable database of vulnerable persons and groups who would benefit from the initiative, ensured that the programme would deliver clinically to the targeted people.

The Hope had reported that Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, last week formally launched the State Covid Action Recovery And Economic Stimulus (ONDO-CARES) as part of the measures to cushion the effects of Covid-19 pandemic on the poor and vulnerable and stabilise micro and small enterprises affected by the pandemic.

Igbasan who is also the Chairman of ONDO-CARES Steering Committee noted that the ONDO-CARES intervention programme is an extension of the NG CARES which is an emergency programme aimed at supporting state-level efforts to respond to and recover from the COVID-19-induced socio-economic crisis.

He explained that the NG-CARES is a two-year emergency intervention designed by the World Bank in collaboration with the Nigeria Governors’ Forum to support states in Nigeria to restore the livelihood of poor and vulnerable households and stabilise Micro and Small Enterprises affected by the pandemic.

“The initiative is an intervention by World Bank that released $750m to the nation and distributed $20m for each of the 36 states of the Federation, including the FCT which got its own share.

“Contrary to speculations that initiative may hit the rock like previous interventions, the disbursement linked indicators and community-based measures deployed to select beneficiaries make it extremely difficult to influence results.

“The project would deliver clinically to the target beneficiaries. The beauty is that the state cannot get a dime except the project has been verified adequately. The money does not come to the purse of the state directly. This is the assurance we have on efficiency and transparency.”

He listed the beneficiaries to include 2,340 poor and vulnerable persons who will get state cash transfer; 3,705 youths (male and female) who are deployed into labour intensive public work activities on social services and works.

Others, according to him, are 4,711 micro and small enterprises; 48,000 beneficiaries of community micro projects and 21,978 small holder farmers who will get supplies of improved agricultural outputs through FADAMA.

The Commissioner, expressed the readiness of the state government to work with all state actors to ensure successful implementation of the project.