Anambra State has emerged the overall best performer in the assessment conducted by the World Bank in the South-East and the South-South zones on the execution and delivery of the global bank’s projects.
The information was delivered to Governor Willie Obiano at the Governor’s Lodge, Awka, when a ten man delegation from the Bank, led by its Country Director, Mr. Rachid Benmessaou, paid him a courtesy call.
Mr. Benmessaou and his team were on a two-day working visit to assess and review World Bank projects in Anambra State for the year.
Mr. Benmessaou revealed that the entire World Bank projects going on in Nigeria was worth about ten billion dollars with over one hundred million dollars being invested in Anambra State in different interventions including agricultural and community development projects.
With the state getting a clean bill of health as a transparent achiever under Governor Obiano, Mr. Benmessaou disclosed that Anambra State stands to benefit more from the World Bank as the institution had already resolved “to execute about four more projects in the state in rural electrification, rural access and agricultural projects as well as other intervention projects.
The State Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Mr. Mark Okoye in his remarks thanked Mr. Benmessaou and his team for the momentous visit that rendered due honour to the state.
Mr. Okoye divulged that the World Bank has been a fundamental partner to the state by contributing about fifteen per cent funding to the annual budget of Anambra State.
In his response, Governor Obiano commended the World Bank’s Community Social Development Programmes and stressed that he was as ever interested to participate actively and assist in any way necessary and drew the World Bank team’s attention to the devastating effects of erosion in Anambra State, stating that erosion is ravenously eating away the little land mass of Anambra as the smallest state in the federation.
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