From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna
Kaduna State Commissioner for Human Services and Social Development, Hajiya Rabi Salisu has revealed that 80% of women who benefited from the Kaduna Women Empowered Programme (KADSWEP) loan have not refunded the money.
She asserted this during a one-day citizens engagement workshop on the Domestication of WEE POLICY in Kaduna State organized by the Development Research and Projects Centre to support the domestication of national Policy in the state.
She expressed dismay at the number of beneficiaries who default, thereby preventing others from benefiting, saying that it was becoming a challenge for the government to give soft loans.
However, she noted that the state government has given the Ministry about 200 million naira from their budget, but the beneficiaries must prove they have business plans and ready to comply with all the agreements they have signed.
The Commissioner however, disclosed that over 15,000 women including people with disability who opened bank accounts have started receiving N50,000 as financial support from the state government to boost their businesses.
Hajiya Salisu reiterated that Kaduna State is determined to invest in women and girls through various interventions in economic development, education, agriculture, and entrepreneurship.
“Over 15,000 women in Kaduna have been included financially; they own their account so that they can be financially independent and financially included in the Global System of Digitization.”
According to her, “the state government had registered over 20,000 women who would benefit from the School feeding program of both Federal and Kaduna State feeding Programmes.
“WEE POLICY is a good opportunity for Kaduna State Women, even in the first 100 days of this administration of Senator Uba Sani, over 5000 women have been empowered through Digitisation, Agriculture among others.”
The Commissioner, who commended the Development Research and Projects Centre (DRPC) for supporting the state in domesticating the policy, noted that Kaduna would be the first State to launch and domesticate the WEE POLICY for the benefit of women across the state.
She adds: “We have Kaduna State Women Empowered Programme KADSWEP 1.0 and 2.0 which are the pilot program for women empowerment and We have a budget for KADSWEP 3.0 which is still in the pipeline.”
She further revealed that the government had sent messages to all women who benefited from KADSWEP 1.0 and 2.0 to return them to the government through the Ministry of Human Services and Social Development to enable other women to benefit.
Earlier, the Executive Director, Development Research and Projects Centre (DRPC), Dr. Judith-Ann Walker, said the rationale behind organising the workshop was to support Kaduna state women’s inclusion.
Dr. Judith, who was represented by the Director of Partnerships and Communications, Malam Hassan Aliyu Karofi, said that 24 other states have been earmarked to be supported to domesticate the policy.
Walker disclosed that Nigeria stands to earn over $2.5bn in investment and economic growth when the policy is domesticated and implemented by the sub-nationals.
The DRPC scribe pointed out that with over 50% of citizens as women, Kaduna state stands to benefit from the immense economic opportunities drivable by empowered women.
In her presentation at the workshop, the Gender Lead at the Albright Stonebridge Group, Mrs. Rimicit Aboki, challenged the subnational governments to explore the value inherent in domesticating and implementing the policy to unlock the potential of women’s economic empowerment.
Also, the World Bank representative at the workshop, Mr Musa Yusuf commended the Kaduna state government for embracing the policy while assuring that the Bank will provide technical assistance to the state to support the domestication of the policy for the benefit of the citizens.
The workshop brought representatives from civil society, traditional and religious leaders, women-led organizations, the private sector, and Ministries, departments, and parastatals in Kaduna State.
