BY ANDREW IKEHI
The Delta State House of Assembly (DTHA) Committee on Housing, Women Affairs, Humanitarian Support Services, and Girl Child Entrepreneurship, has urged Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) to be prudent in managing funds accrued to them.
The Chairman of the Committee, Hon Bridget Anyafulu, gave the charge when she led members of the committee on an oversight visit to the tripartite ministries under her purview in Asaba.
Hon Anyafulu, at the meeting, stressed the need for the ministries to make judicious use of their budgetary allocations for the implementation of policies and programmes of the State government’s ‘’MORE Agenda’.
‘’I urged them to be prudent and make sure they make use of every penny budgeted for their ministries so that the people of the State will see that the Governor Sheriff Oborevwori’s administration has been able to carry every citizen along, ‘’she said.
Anyafulu, the member representing Oshimili South Constituency, said the visit was part of her constitutional responsibility to carry out oversight functions on the MDAs to ensure they perform optimally.
‘’It is our constitutional duty to make sure we carry out oversight function and this is one of the reasons we are elected into the State House of Assembly. We have been able to meet with the three ministries involved in our committee to make sure that monies budgeted from different perspectives are judiciously used.
‘’And we are happy what they have done and we have been able to also look into their challenges and see how we can forge ahead, ‘’ she said.
Anyafulu, while commending the ministries for the implementation of policies and programmes of the State government’s ‘MORE Agenda’, lauded the Ministry for Women Affairs and Social Development for the successes recorded in the last year.
Anyafulu and her committee, who were also at the Ministry of Housing, enjoined the ministry to go into Public Private Partnership (PPP) in tackling the challenge of housing deficit in the state, saying that the ‘’government alone cannot do it all’’.
The committee also commended the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Community Support Services and Girl Child Entrepreneurship for the successful launch of the ‘MORE Grant Scheme for petty traders, and artisans’ in the state.
She urged the ministry to set up a comprehensive social register for the poor and vulnerable in the state for effective implementation of the government’s programmes and policies.
On his part, the Commissioner for Housing, Mr Godknows Angele, who highlighted some of the programmes of the state government in addressing the issues of housing in the state, also listed some challenges bedevilling the ministry. He solicited the support of the Committee in mitigating these challenges, especially in approving the next budget preparation.
Also, the Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs Pat Ajudua, and her Humanitarian Affairs counterpart, Ms Orode Uduaghan, while reeling out the activities of their respective ministries, appealed for more support from the State Legislature in addressing their concerns.
The Pointer reports that Anyafulu was accompanied on the visit by members of the committee, including Hon Marilyn Okowa-Daramola (Ika North East), Hon Augustine Uroye (Warri South I) and Hon Bernard Odior, the Chief Whip of the Assembly.
