From Ryder Raheem, Abeokuta
Ogun state authorities said it would expedite payments through the establishment of the Rural Access Roads Corporation (RARA) and the State Road Fund (SRF) to ensure the construction and maintenance of rural roads, effectively raising funds for the challenge.
The state’s rural development commissioner, Jamiu Odetoogun, made this point at a road sector reform stakeholder seminar in the state capital, Abeokuta.
Organised by the Ogun State Rural Access and Agri-Advertising Enterprise (RAAMP) and the Rural Development Department, the workshop was attended by representatives from the individual sector and relevant authority companies and aimed at ensuring the sustainability and continuity of agricultural streets after RAAMP exits. action.
Odetoogun defines that as a precondition for additional funding for the Challenge by the World Financial Institutions and the French Growth Company, the National Authorities will ensure that the disbursement of RARA and SRF is completed promptly and positioned no later than the National Conference House beyond the stated Challenge Effective Date 18 months.
In response to the commissioner, under RAAMP, 125km of rural roads could be repaired and upgraded across Ogun.
He added that the challenges will also involve 200km of rehabilitation and backlog maintenance; 450km of site remediation: 700km of rural roads with daily maintenance; development of 100m of cross-drainage works (culverts and bridges) and improvement of 5 agricultural logistics centres (rural markets) .
“The institutions of the Rural Access Roads Corporation (RARA) and the State Road Fund (SRF) were established based on the teachings of the venture capital’s predecessor, RAMP 2, to ensure the implementation of rural street reforms and strengthen their institutional capacity. Therefore, with the addition of the companies, Funding that can support the maintenance of rural roads in the state and ensure sustainability will ensure that every state and rural road will remain in good condition after the RAAMP expires.
“Let me assure you at this level that, as a devotion, state authorities will activate all mandatory mechanisms for immediate disbursement through the establishment of the Rural Access Roads Corporation (RARA) and the State Road Fund. (SRF) in the first Captured under three elements, and their eventual approval by the governor.
“The expected advantages of these agencies to the people of Ogun State are enormous, and their benefits to the federal government cannot be realized by Ogun-RAAMP and the Rural Development Department alone, and therefore a collective effort of all relevant stakeholders.” Odetougon said.
Earlier, RAAMP National Coordinator Bodinga Mohammed, who was represented at the workshop by Buka Gana, defined that the purpose of the street sector reform is to enrich the efforts of state authorities in rural road development, including the need for individual key areas to address challenges.