SURE-P Generates 116,000 Jobs Nationwide -FG

The Federal Government, Tuesday, said Community Services Women and Youths Employment, CSWYE, project of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P), has generated no fewer than 116,000 jobs across the country.
Speaking through the Minster of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu in Abuja, the government said a total of N3, 183,820,150.00 had been paid to date as stipends to beneficiaries of CSWYE project of the SURE-P across the federation.

A statement by Olowookere Samuel, Assistant Director (Press) in the Labour ministry, said Chief Wogu spoke during the inaugural meeting of the inter-ministerial consultative committee of the CSWYE Project of SURE-P.

According to Wogu; “monthly stipends are consistently, being paid to beneficiaries. To date a total of N3, 183,820,150.00 has been paid as stipends to beneficiaries across the Federation.”
He noted that the project which started with 14 pilot states with 300 to 1000 beneficiaries had employed a total of 116,000 beneficiaries, saying “the project started in fourteen pilot states with 300 to 1000 beneficiaries in each, but has now scaled up to 3000 in each state and FCT. To date, a total of 116,000 beneficiaries (74,863 males 41,137 females and including 5,432 people living with disabilities) are deployed in 34 states and FCT, working on a total of 5,761 projects/services spread across 10,707. We project to engage 2000 more beneficiaries per state, including the FCT before the year runs out to attain the 185,000 set annual target.”

In a related development, Chief Wogu while briefing the House of Representatives Committee on Labour, Productivity and Employment, on the implementation status of the CSWEY project, called on the legislators to pass the amendment proposal to the 2013 budget as presented by President Goodluck Jonathan.

He said this would facilitate the sustenance of the project without which the second phase of the CSWYE project cannot be implemented and payment of stipends to existing beneficiaries would not be sustained.

“The major challenge of the project is non-approval of the budgetary provision in full to sustain the payment of stipends to beneficiaries. This is of great concern as any delay in payment of stipends results in ripples of crisis by participating youths in the states”

In his remarks, the Chairman House Committee on Labour, Productivity and Employment, Essien Ayi, said: “In my state, Cross River State, we are aware of the activities of the CSWYE project of SURE-P. I heard that they have started paying them because it is an E-payment system done directly to the account of the beneficiaries”.

He added that, the purpose of inviting the minister was for him to come and shed more light on the activities of the project in order to guide the committee on its oversight function which is due to commence soon.