ADDIS ABABA- Nearly 600 thousand poor and vulnerable people have been benefited from Urban Productive Safety-net Program in 11 selected cities of Ethiopia in its three years of implementation, said Urban Job Creation and Food Security Agency.
Presently, 141, 142 poor and vulnerable people are enrolled in the capital city of the country alone.
Agency Deputy General Director Solomon Assefa told The Ethiopian Herald that the beneficiaries have saved 2.88 million birr from their income. So then the project is also playing a vital role in developing a saving culture among the beneficiaries.
In its first year when the project went operational, 199,000 poor people took part, he added.
Some 67 percent of the beneficiaries were females. While the majority of the beneficiaries take part in public work, few who are not capable, receive direct aid. Hence, besides changing livelihood, the program is also helping to bring about attitudinal change.
As to Solomon, Urban Productive Safety-net Project has been playing a critical role in ensuring food security, reducing unemployment and developing the working culture of the community.
The project beneficiaries are actively participating in various environmental public works such as cleaning and beautifying urban areas.
Beneficiaries are selected by a neighborhood committee by assessing their poverty level and vulnerability. The program also includes the provision of loans for those beneficiaries who are aspiring to start their own business.
Absence of input supplier at the national level, limited stakeholders’ integration, instability in some part of the country and absence of skilled man power are challenges that the agency is facing. Hence, so far, the Agency has managed to utilize 52 percent of the budget.
While the total capital of the project is 450 USD million, 300 million USD was donated by the World Bank and the remaining was covered by the Ethiopian government. The program is entering the finalization stage of the first five-year implementation.
The Ethiopian Herald July 25/2019
BY MULATU BELACHEW
