The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Zainab Maina, has stated that in a bid to reduce poverty and unemployment in the country, the federal government is to establish a National Grassroots Revolving Loan Fund that will provide social welfare support to the grassroots that constitute over 80 percent of Nigeria’s population.
Mrs. Zainab stated this when the director-general of Nigerian Capital Development Fund, Hareter Babatunde Oralusi, visited her in Abuja yesterday.
She noted that “if properly managed, the activities of the Fund would greatly contribute to the success of the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan as well as fast-track the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Nigeria.”
According to her,” The proposed fund, which will be jointly operated by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development and the Nigerian Capital Development Fund (NCDF), will be executed in partnership with development partners, donor agencies, public and private sectors all over the world as well as the rest of the international community.”
Maina also stated that, in the present circumstance where competing demands on government’s lean purse were becoming more pronounced, ministries, departments and agencies needed to be more creative and imaginative, especially through public and private sector partnership in the implementation of various social welfare, health and empowerment programmes and projects in various communities.
The minister further said that the ministry’s partnership with the NCDF was crucial because, according to her, “it is one of those untapped windows of opportunities that can be used to fast-track President Goodluck Jonathan’s transformation agenda as well as the MDGs.
“I am happy to note that this ministry has found in you a reliable partner that it can work with to access funds for its social development programmes and projects.”
While appealing to the D-G to approve all programmes put forward by the ministry for funding, Maina assured that whatever resources placed on the programmes would be judiciously utilised based on agreed operational framework so as to ensure programme’s sustainability and effectiveness.