Dep Gov Lauds 94m Euro Bond Project

The Cross River State Government has expressed happiness that the State is part of the 94million Euro Water and Sanitation Sector Reform Programme Phase 11 (WSSSRP 11) in Nigeria.
The State Deputy Governor, Mr. Efiok Cobham, stated this in an interview with newsmen at the launch of the WSSSRP 11 and commencement of the 10th European Development Fund (EDF) project in the State.
According to Cobham, the “programme would address the challenges encountered in the first phase of the project which included delay in the payment of counterpart contributions by some partners in the programme and the lack of sustainability.”
Others were, issues of design concept, project sizes and power supply, running cost, human capacity gaps, financial contributions and similar factors experienced during the last five years.
These, he noted, should be regarded as lessons learnt on subsequent programmes and hoped that the 10th EDF project would address the problems and other related issues towards improving subsequent programmes.
The State Government also commended the European Union (EU) and the United Nation’s Children Fund (UNICEF), for selecting Cross River State among the states for the project.
“The occasion had accorded us the opportunity to express our resolve to continue to work in close collaboration with our development partners, the EU and UNICEF towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals in 2015,” he noted.
In his remarks, the State Commissioner for Water Resources, Mr. Elemi Etowa, said the project would consolidate on the gains of the WSSSRP 1 and address the weaknesses experienced in the programme.