By: Our Reporter, Calabar
Cross River State Governor, Senator Bassey Edet Otu has inaugurated a ten years development plan counting from the current year, 2024 to the year 2033.
The initiative is a product of the partnership between the State Planning Commission and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
The event took place at the Metropolitan Hotel (formerly Transcorp) Calabar with the Deputy Governor Rt. Hon. Peter Odey, representing the Governor. The Governor disclosed that the State Development Plan (SDP) is a clear-cut strategy aimed at promoting sustainable, equitable, and inclusive growth and development in Cross River State.
The four-section plan is designed to address the state’s unique challenges and improve the material well-being of its citizens.
The booklet, which is 130-pages, contains the State Plans; divided into nine chapters and four sections. The first section outlines the objectives of the State Development Plan, while the second section identifies the state’s development challenges, focusing on infrastructure, social welfare, governance, and environmental sustainability.
The third section provides an analysis of root causes and identifies bottlenecks, and the final section highlights the potentials, opportunities, and key pillars of the State Development Plan.
Vouching strongly for the plan’s anticipated results, Governor Otu noted the importance of leveraging existing planning documents, such as State Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (SEEDS), Local Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (LEEDS), Growth and Development Strategy (GDS), the National Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), the National Development Plan, and the Human Capital Development (HCD) Vision 2030.
“This plan addresses our state’s developmental challenges, including non-inclusive economic growth, infrastructure deficits, climate change, poverty, limited fiscal space, unemployment, inequality, and other forms of human deprivation.
The monitoring and evaluation framework built into the plan to assist in tracking progress over the plan period is highly commendable. I sincerely commend UNICEF for the great assistance rendered to the state in the formulation of this development plan, as well as other actors who have contributed in various ways to the drafting of the State Development Plan,” he added.
Dr. Bong Duke, Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, CEO of the State Planning Commission, also applauded UNICEF for conceptualizing and initiating the idea of the State Development Plan and for providing the necessary support to bring it to fruition.
“We sincerely appreciate the contributions of the Heads of Local Government Areas (HOLGAs), Youth Groups, Farmers Associations, Women Groups, and everyone who played a role in formulating this Development Plan. Your input has been invaluable at every stage, and we look forward to the positive impact this plan will have on our state,” he added.
