Ahead of it 2020 budget year and to carry every stakeholder along, Delta State Oil Producing Area Development Commission, (DESOPADEC), has kicked off her town hall meetings with the five ethnic nationalities that constituted the commission.
Our correspondent reports that the town hall meeting which kicked off Monday at the Isoko Unity House, Oleh, headquarters of Isoko South local government area of the state, was attended by the President General of Isoko Development Union, (IDU), traditional rulers from Isoko extraction, President Generals of the various Isoko communities with a robust interactive session with management of DESOPADEC.
Addressing the town hall meeting, Managing Director of DESOPADEC, Mr. Askia Ogieh explained that the commission is embarking on a bottom-to-top approach in line with the rebranding of the commission by the state government aimed at meeting its vision of developing the oil producing communities.
According to the DESOPADEC boss, no ongoing project will be abandoned by his administration, stressing that DESOPADEC is one united commission, irrespective of board leadership, saying that the commission will be spending 60 percent of its fund on ongoing projects while 40 percent will be spent on new projects.
“I am awaiting your project compendium for our budget preparation in line with the bottom-to-top approach as we will be starting our proper budget process by next week. The funds for the commission are shared according to the quantum of ethnic groups and projects are shared accordingly on this with Isoko nation getting 14 percent.
“The DESOPADEC budget system is actually in two forms namely centralised project and ethnic project, but the centralised project is the legacy project of this administration and the government is very interested in these projects as it will show that we have changed from the DESOPADEC of old to a rebranded DESOPADEC.” Ogieh stated.
Earlier in his address, the President General of Isoko Development Union (IDU), Mr. Iduh Amadhe,
enumerated challenges and demands of Isoko nation even as he poured encomiums on the commission for its bottom-to-top approach, adding that the approach will be a turn around in the future mandate of the commission.
“I must place on record that we acknowledge and appreciate the new bottom to top approach system being adopted by the board as a wonderful initiative that is bound to bring a sharp turn around in the fortunes of area of mandate.
“It is my fervent believe that if well executed, the new approach will not only bring about the desired results, but will remain a potent factor in achieving the set goals. I also wish to commend the new approach to attending to payments payable contractors. I urge you to keep this up as it is confidence building and a possible spur for greater performance as well as quality service delivery.”
On the protracted electricity challenges been faced by Isoko nation, the IDU President General advised the commission to partner with BEDC, NDDC to fast track the completion of the 132KVA line for Isoko People as well as set up a micro credit scheme, scholarship, employment to indigenes of oil producing communities according to the production quota of the oil producing ethnic nationalities.
Amadhe, admonished the commission to as a matter of fact and urgency, review some of the old projects initiated by the commission that did not meet up engineering standard and requirements and subsequently of negative impact on the benefiting communities, adequate budgeting for ongoing or inherited projects against previous system of concentrating on new projects while ongoing projects are not accommodated in financial outlay for continuity.
