RSSDA Restates Commitment To Dev

The Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA), has restated its commitment towards sustainable development in local government areas.

The Executive Director of the agency, Mr. Noble Pepple said this at a two day capacity building workshop organised by the Agency in conjunction with the Ministry of Local Government Affairs under the Excellence in Local government Initiative (ELGI) for Directors of Budget, Internal Auditors and Secretaries of the Local Government Councils in Port Harcourt.

Mr. Pepple also said that the Agency had provided a level playing field for the 23 local government councils to compete with a view to providing quality services and infrastructures to the people.

He said that the workshop would provide opportunity for the participants as principal officers of the councils to be more focused and committed to their work.

Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Government Affairs, Mrs. Grace Akpughunum Okwalehie urged the participants to take the workshop seriously, noting that it was the only way the chairmen of their various local government areas could have confidence in them.

He also commended the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA) for the ELGI programme which he said would enhance development in the local government areas.

Also speaking, the facilitator of the workshop, Mr. Clapton Ogolo, said that the programme was to build the capacity of both the elected officers and career civil servants.

Mr. Ogolo who is a former Commissioner of the Ministry in the state said that the RSSDA was working at the possibility of ensuring an integrated development plan for the local government areas on both short, medium and long term.

According, to him, “it is a holistic plan because we don’t have sufficient funds and resources to carry all the projects together and we feel that if there is an integrated development plan, there would be a systematic plan in the development of the rural areas he said.”