By Uche Amunike
Anambra State Community and Social Development Agency (ANCSDA) is an Agency set up to promote and implement development activities at the grassroot level. The Agency is currently implementing World Bank Assisted Community and Social Development Project- Additional Financing (CSDP-AF) in the state which aims at poverty reduction in rural communities using Community Driven Development (CDD) approach.
ANCSDA recently carried out project launch activities in the ten focal communities whose Community Development Plan (CDP) were approved by the World Bank and the first tranche (30% of the project funds) were disbursed to those communities. The ten communities are Ugbenu, Enugwu-Aguleri, Umumbo, Nanka, Umu-eze Anam, Nando, Ndikelionwu, Omogho, Umueri, and Nsugbe. In line with the operational procedure of CSDP-AF in ensuring good use of project funds, ANCSDA sent a Project Monitoring and Evaluation team, comprising of technical staff of the Agency and relevant desk officers (DOs) from the Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) to all the project sites in the ten benefitting communities.
The SA monitoring team led by the Project Officer, Monitoring & Evaluation (PO, M&E), Uche Egbunike, include the Project Officers in charge of Management Information System (MIS), Supervision, Procurement, Internal Audit, Accounts and also the relevant Operation officer (OO) assigned to each community. The technical staff from relevant Ministries such as Works, Education, Health, Public Utilities etc. also formed part of the SA monitoring team. At the various community project sites, the team interfaced with the chairman and other members of the Community Project Management Committee (CPMC) of each of the communities who then took them round the sites to monitor and evaluate the work done so far with the 1st tranche of funds released by the ANCSDA to each of the communities for the project implementation. The team thoroughly checked the financial records, bank documents and cash transactions of the CPMC to ensure that the funds released to them by the State Agency were properly utilized. They also evaluated the construction works being done at the project sites to ensure that they meet the required standard as approved in their various Bill of Quantities (BoQs). The team while expressing satisfaction with the physical progress and quality of work done also pointed out areas for corrections and improvement in the on-going micro projects.
In their separate reactions, the CPMC Chairmen of the various communities expressed their joy at the visits and promised to amend the corrections noted by the Monitoring team on the micro projects being implemented. With heart full of joy, the people of Ugbenu community represented by the CPMC Chairman of Ugbenu Community, Mr Cosmas Okafor, thanked the ANCSDA for their commitment in funding and technically supporting the community in the implementation of their approved micro projects (MPs) promising that the project will be completed in record time and will meet the approved standard. Also, the CPMC Chairman of Umumbo community, Hon. Peter Okoye said he is elated because ANCSDA hearkened to the cry for help and described the project as a most timely intervention. Meanwhile, the monitoring team has since moved on with their work to other benefitting communities in state.
