The Cross River State Government has in the last six years accessed $447,000 from the International Fund for Agriculture Development for projects, the State Programme Officer, Mr. Innocent Ogbin, said.
Ogbin told the News Agency of Nigeria in an interview in Calabar on Wednesday that the amount represented 40 per cent of the total project cost.
He said the lack of prompt payment of counterpart funds from contributory partners was responsible for the low level of implementation of IFAD programmes in the state.
He said, “So far, we have been able to draw down $447,000 from IFAD to date and that is just over 40 per cent. We still have more than over 50 per cent yet to draw.
“And the reason is because of low commitment in terms of counterpart funding.”
Ogbin said the state had paid N154m as counterpart funding between 2006 and 2011 but had yet to pay for 2012.
He added, “The state is doing very well, the state's yearly contribution is N45m, which they have paid up to 2011, as at today, the state is 75 per cent compliant.
“But the huge challenge lies with the local government councils. Incidentally, this takes about 45 per cent of the entire project funding.
“So you can agree that if you take away 45 per cent funding in the project, the remaining 55 per cent cannot complete the project. That is a huge challenge.”
He, however, said an agreement had been reached for the funds to be deducted at source from the accounts of the nine councils involved in the project.
Ogbin said, “But now we have been able to get the commitment of local government councils involved. And they are in line with the agreement that this fund should be deducted from their allocations.
“We hope that by the first quarter of 2013, these funds would be paid.
He said his office had devised a means of taxing the benefiting communities in order to augment the lack of payment of counterpart funds by the councils.
He further noted that in spite of the shortcoming of the councils, they were still asking for more projects in their communities.
He added, “The councils are equally asking for expansions of the projects to more communities which we had recommended in the last review mission.”
