A Former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs under whom Rural Access and Mobility Programme (RAMP) was initiated, Barr. Kezie Ogaziechi, has commended Governor Emeka Ihedioha for supporting the flag off of the rural road infrastructure development under RAMP.
Barr. Ogaziechi expressed happiness that the effort of Ohakim’s administration in birthing RAMP in Imo State is not a waste after all.
Imo State was the ninth State that qualified to participate in the RAMP programme, which is a World Bank and Federal Ministry of Agriculture Rural Road Infrastructure Development programme in 2010 and it was not handout but a product of the recognition of the then government’s rural road development policy..
The Ohakim administrations success and exploits through a properly equipped, structured and managed IRROMA, pre-qualified the State to easily secure approval to be admitted to participate in the RAMP programme.
Barr. Ogaziechi and his staff at the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, worked round the clock to satisfy all the conditions required to secure all the approvals and the then Commissioner for Local Government, successfully defended the proposal at the national assembly because of the foreign exchange component.
That the immediate past administration in Imo State refused to deploy the money earmarked and warehoused in first bank to meet up the counterpart funding showed lack of wisdom and poor appreciation of the value-content of such counterpart funded programmes and the benefits derivable from such.
Further to the above, the strict requirements of best practices and due process by these World Bank assisted programmes may have discouraged the last administration from leveraging the huge rural development opportunities offered by RAMP.
It is therefore heartening that shortly after assumption of office, Governor Ihedioha has given live to this well thought out development programme that has lifted a lot of rural communities in the participating states.
Perhaps it was a coincidence that Mbaitoli, the Local Government of the former Local Government Commissioner who attracted RAMP to Imo State, Barr. Ogaziechi, played host to the flag off of the road development projects.
Barr. Ogaziechi who spoke to our correspondent on phone regretted that he could not witness the flag-off in his Local Government because he was not invited and had no information about the programme. He advised that going forward, we should learn the value content of institutional memory in sustaining development ideas, initiatives and energy.
On the decision of Governor Ihedioha to revive IRROMA, Barr. Ogaziechi said that Governor Ihedioha would be changing governance narratives by reviving institutions initiated by his predecessors that are considered relevant in his development plans. Abandoning such institutions just to spite your predecessors denies the State the opportunity of enjoying the benefits of continuity. IRROMA remains a very viable institution that would guarantee sustainable all year round accessible roads in our rural areas.
Its smack of timidity and complex for any incoming government to assume that every development idea initiated by the predecessors are bad. Government is a continuum and every good idea must be sustained.
