Uche Usim, Abuja
In a calculated effort to ameliorate the sufferings of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), especially those in the Northeast, the Federal Government has unveiled Targeted Grant Transfer (TGT), a scheme that aims to help them to gradually vacate the IDPs camps and resettle in safe communities.
The grant will come from the $400 million FG/World Bank social empowerment fund managed by the Youth Employment and Social Support Operations (YESSO), in the office of the Vice President.
The Acting National Coordinator of YESSO, Mrs Hajara Sami, at a press briefing in Abuja at the weekend said the TGT was conceived in October, adding that many families had indicated interest to be resettled.
According to her, once the project commenced in full, each benefiting family would be given a total of N200,000 in four tranches to relocate.
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Giving a breakdown of the payment, she said N30,000 would be given as basic relocation fee, N20,000 for relocation, N100,000 for resettlement and finally N50,000 as stabilisation grants.
Sani stressed that all payments made to beneficiaries under the programme were usually done electronically to avoid duplicity.
Sami said the YESSO programme was conceived to strengthen safety net systems in states, improve plight of poor and vulnerable and increase human capital development of the downtrodden.
She used the medium to inform the public of the availability of a social register for the poor and vulnerable in various states, so that Non Government Organisations (NGOs) and government agencies can inquire and make use of it.
She assured that the scheme was foolproof, adding; “gone are the days managers sat in their offices to determine who benefited from social emancipation programmes. It uses community-based capturing mechanisms.
“We do our due diligence thoroughly. We have different layers of verification. Everything we do is sent to the World Bank for validation.
“If the communities have any queries, they can also access us and the World Bank for redress. It’s a very thorough process and that is why it is succeeding. It’s not like other empowerment schemes,” she noted.
She urged the states to provide beneficiaries of various trainings some starter packs for them to hone their skills.
The $300 million YESSO programme is one of the World Bank-assisted programmes out to reduce poverty by creating immediate employment opportunities through public workfare, skill for job for the teeming youth and conditional cash transfers.
It was established in 2013 by the former administration and domiciled under the office of the Vice President.
Three years later in 2016, the Buhari administration restructured the programme to also respond to the emerging situation in the North East.
The restructured operation with additional $100 million was approved, bringing the total to $400 million with effect from February, 2017.