Bayelsa Assures RAAMP of Counterpart Funding for Rural Road Projects

The Bayelsa State Government has assured the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Programme (RAAMP) and other development partners that it will meet its counterpart funding obligations for critical infrastructure projects across the state.

Deputy Governor Dr Peter Akpe gave the assurance on Wednesday when officials of RAAMP paid a courtesy visit to him at the Government House in Yenagoa.

Akpe said the administration of Governor Douye Diri remained committed to infrastructure development, particularly the construction of roads and bridges to improve connectivity across Bayelsa despite the state’s difficult terrain.

He said the government had embraced partnerships with development organisations and other stakeholders to execute major projects, adding that the approach had produced positive results.

Akpe acknowledged RAAMP’s role in opening up rural communities through road construction and improving access to agricultural areas. He said the programme would complement the state government’s efforts to link rural communities with Yenagoa and other urban centres, thereby strengthening economic activities.

The deputy governor also urged RAAMP and other development partners implementing counterpart-funded projects to consider Bayelsa’s challenging terrain when preparing budgets, project designs and expenditure plans.

“I want to assure you that we will also take care of those areas, including the counterpart funding you mentioned. So, you should not be afraid of that at all,” Akpe said, while also assuring the team that the state’s officials handling the programme were experienced and committed.

On infrastructure, Akpe said the state was constructing roads and bridges across rivers, creeks, swamps and other difficult areas to connect local government headquarters and open up communities for agriculture and business. He described RAAMP’s focus on farm-to-market roads as complementary to the government’s existing infrastructure programme.

Earlier, RAAMP Team Lead and Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, Chinedu Olisah, disclosed that $600 million in donor funding was available for states that met the programme’s participation requirements. He said the World Bank would provide $500 million, while the Federal Government would contribute $100 million.

Olisah commended Bayelsa for meeting some of the conditions for participation, including constituting the boards of the Bayelsa State Rural Access Roads Authority and the Bayelsa State Road Fund. He, however, appealed to the state government to provide a take-off grant for the RARA office and consider merging it with the State Road Fund office, while also meeting its counterpart funding obligations.