The COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus Programme (LAGOS-CARES) beneficiaries have been asked to take use of the possibilities and indirect advantages of the program to enhance their level of living and gain new skills.
The advice was given at a sensitization session for recipients of the Labour Intensive Public Workforce, Delivery Platform (DLI 1.2) in the 20 LGAs of Lagos State by Mrs. Abosede George, Permanent Secretary, Office of Sustainable Development Goals and Investment.
The Permanent Secretary explained that the initiative is intended to address the emergency constraints of loss of labor income among poor and vulnerable households caused by the COVID-19 pandemic across communities in the State during the one-day program held at Adeyemi-Bero Auditorium, Alausa, Ikeja.
According to her, “This intervention program is a crucial component of the national strategy chosen to lessen the impact of the epidemic and improve the wellness of our people.”
George remarked that while the Labour Intensive Public Workforce delivery platform is designed to significantly address the socio-economic well-being of vulnerable members of society and reduce poverty, it plays a vital role in the overall implementation of the program.
According to her, those beneficiaries who were chosen from the State Social Register (SOCU), a system created using a fair and transparent procedure in accordance with the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), were given access to immediate work prospects in the State’s public sector.
The Permanent Secretary explained that the beneficiaries who had been enrolled and had undergone training pertinent to their jobs had been assigned to social obligations under MDAs in the State and were receiving their monthly stipends in a suitable manner.
“As a responsive government, we are providing our citizens with the options necessary to achieve the targeted level of wellbeing and socially acceptable standard of life. Implementing plans to include more people in the socioeconomic safety net has received increased attention, George claimed.
She said that her administration will continue to work with goodwill individuals in both the public and private sectors to provide citizens with good governance, highlighting how such initiatives will significantly contribute to the creation of a prosperous society.
Mr. Baruwa Basit, the session’s facilitator and a member of LAGOS-CARES, the State Care Coordinating Unit, emphasized that beneficiaries are at the center of the project and that the State Government is committed to safeguarding their interests.
Baruwa urged program participants to look beyond their monthly stipends and develop transferable skills that will secure their wellness. Baruwa emphasized the significance of the program to enhance and extend social protection to the state’s impoverished and vulnerable inhabitants.
It is laudable that recipients have been assigned to work with a number of MDAs, including the Lagos State Public Works, the Ministry of Transportation, the Primary Health Care Board, and the Lagos State Parks and Gardens Agency (LASPARK).
This will significantly advance the scheme’s goal, according to Baruwa.
In order to ensure the success of the strategic initiative, Basit urged beneficiaries to carry out their assigned tasks effectively and work together with supervisors and people of their host community.
In their testimony, beneficiaries expressed their gratitude to the State Government for its prompt action and sincerity in coordinating the scheme.
The training event was attended by over 1000 recipients from Local Governments throughout the State.