CSWYE project of SURE-P generates 116,000 job opportunities-says Labour Minister The Minister of Labour and Productivity, Emeka Wogu has disclosed that a total sum of N3, 183,820,150.00 has been paid to date as stipends to beneficiaries of the Community Services Women and Youths Employment (CSWYE) project of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme, across the federation. Wogu made this disclosure in Abuja during the inaugural meeting of the inter-ministerial consultative committee of the Community Services Women and Youths Employment Project of SURE-P. In his words; “Monthly stipends are consistently, being paid to beneficiaries. To date, a sum of N3, 183,820,150.00 has been paid as stipends to beneficiaries across the Federation”. The Minister added that the project which started with fourteen pilot States with 300 to 1,000 beneficiaries has employed a total of 116,000 beneficiaries. According to him, “The project started in fourteen pilot States with 300 to 1,000 beneficiaries in each, but has now scaled up to 3,000 in each State and FCT, to date, a total of 116,000 beneficiaries (74,863 males 41,137 females and including 5,432 people living with disabilities) are deployed in 34 States and FCT, working on a total of 5,761 projects/services spread across 10,707”. While speaking further, Wogu affirmed that “We project to engage 2,000 more beneficiaries per State including the FCT before the year runs out to attain the 185,000 set annual targets”. In their separate remarks, the Minister of Water Resources, Mrs. Sarah Reng Ochekpe, and her Ministry of Youths Development counterpart, Mr. Inuwa Abdul-Kadir including the Minister of State Works, Amb. Bashir Yuguda, stated that President Goodluck Jonathan is committed to reduction of unemployment in Nigeria, while appreciating the Labour Minister for landmark achievements recorded within such a brief moment of taking over the CSWYE project. In a related development, Chief Wogu while briefing the House of Representative Committee on Labour, Productivity and Employment, on the implementation status of the CSWEY project, called on the legislators to pass the 2013 amendment proposal to the 2013 budget as presented by President Goodluck Jonathan, to facilitate the sustenance of the project without which the second phase of the CSWYE project cannot be implemented and payment of stipends to existing the beneficiaries would not be sustained. “The major challenge of the project is non-approval of the budgetary provision in full to sustain the payment of stipends to beneficiaries. This is of great concern as any delay in payment of stipends results in ripples of crisis by participating youths in the States”. In his remarks, the Chairman House Committee on Labour, Productivity and Employment, Honourable Essien Ayi, acknowledged the presence and impact of the CSWYE project in his constituency and State, according to him: “In my state, Cross River State, we are aware of the activities of the CSWYE project of SURE-P. I heard that they have started paying them because it is an e-payment system done directly to the account of the beneficiaries”; Honourable Ayi confirmed. He added that, the purpose of inviting the Minister was for him to come and shed more light on the activities of the project in order to guide the committee on its oversight function which is due to commence soon.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Jul 2013 15:47:05 +0000
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