The Special Adviser to Ekiti State Governor on Social Investments Programme (SIP), Hon. Mrs Yemisi Ayokunle, has said that the Oyebanji led- administration would continue to support initiatives aimed at assisting the economically productive members of poor and vulnerable households in the State to support their livelihoods and expand their businesses.
The Special Adviser gave the assurance in Ado-Ekiti during a training programme for 5000 newly selected beneficiaries of Livelihood Grant (DLI 1.3) Component of the Ekiti Covid -19 Action Recovery Economic Stimulus (EK-CARES) on Basic Business Skills and Vocational Refresher
Hon. Ayokunle who noted that the grant was at the instance of the Ekiti State Government, Federal Government and the World Bank disclosed that the latest 5,000 Beneficiaries of the Livelihood grant (DLI 1.3) drawn from across the State will be given a one – off sums ranging from 120, 000 naira to 200,000 naira, depending on their business plan and size.
She said close to 10,000 people in Ekiti State have benefitted from the Livelihood Grant (DLI 1.3) Component of the Ekiti Covid -19 Action Recovery Economic Stimulus (EK-CARES) Programme now Ekiti Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus Programme since commencement of the programme in 2021.
She noted that the programme which is devoid of politics have beneficiaries drawn from the State Social Register which had earlier been collated and domiciled with the State Operations Coordinating Unit (SOCU) of the Ministry of Budget, Planning and Performance Management.
Hon. Ayokunle who commended Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji and the Federal Government for their commitment to the welfare of the business owners affected in one way or the other by the COVID-19 pandemic charged the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the fund to expand their businesses.
Earlier, the State Programme Manager, Ekiti State Cash Transfer Unit, Mrs Cecilia Oluwatoyin Olomo disclosed that the programme is meant to support the livelihoods of economically active members of poor and vulnerable households.
She explained that the beneficiaries were selected from the State Social Register, validated, sensitized, enrolled and trained to qualify for the disbursement adding that a proper monitoring will be carried out after disbursement to ensure the fund is judiciously used for the purpose it is meant for.
The Programme Manager noted that the training was necessary to enhance the capacity of the beneficiaries in line with the human capacity development agenda of Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s administration and the provisions of the EK – CARES operations manual
One of the Beneficiaries, Mr Adeniyi Akintoye appreciated the State and Federal Governments as well as the the State Cash Transfer Unit for handling the programme with unrivaled commitment.
He promised the readiness of the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the fund.
The first batch of the livelihood grants (DLI 1.3) for economically active household members with small scale businesses had 1,609 beneficiaries. Second batch 1,159 and the third batch – 2,000 people while the current batch (fourth batch) captures 5000 beneficiaries.