By: Oluwatosin Adesola
The Ondo State Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget has organised One-day Validation Workshop On The Draft Visioning And Comparative Advantage Analysis Report For The Long-Term State Development Plan, tagged “Ondo 2054”.
The workshop held in Akure on Tuesday, had in attendance key stakeholders including members of the State House of Assembly, State Technical Committee (STC), Representatives and Chairmen of Associations and Unions, Academia, Professional Bodies, Faith Based Organizations and top Public Servants from the state and local governments.
Addressing participants during the workshop opening ceremony, the Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Pastor Emmanuel Igbasan, said “Ondo 2054” is anchored on four Development Pillars and Twenty-nine thematic areas including cross-cutting issues to drive the growth and development of the State in a long term perspective.
The Commissioner noted that the four pillars of the Plan included Prosperous Economy; Human Capital Development; Environment and Infrastructure; as well as Governance, Law and Order.
Igbasan said, “the task of crafting a development plan is a collective responsibility which should not be left in the hands of government alone. Every indigene of the State therefore have a very significant role and responsibility to play in the crafting of the plan, as it will provide the rallying point in bringing to manifestation our collective dreams and aspirations of a prosperous State which all its citizens will be proud of and socio- economically empowered to compete and sustainably meet their basic necessities of life.
“It is on record that we have made accelerated progress and achieved some of the milestones and set deliverables for this great task since its commencement last year. This report is the third in the series of the expected deliverables in the Plan Preparation Process.
“Earlier before now, we have been engaging with stakeholders in different turns to harvest their inputs into the Plan. This workshop therefore will also provide the opportunity to further deepen consultation with broad spectrum of stakeholders in the crafting of the plan especially in enriching this draft report to make it more robust and truly envision our desired development trajectory in critical sectors of the State in years to come.
“The inputs received hitherto had been incorporated into this draft report thus the need for this workshop to validate the inputs and also give opportunity for other key actors to make contributions and add value to the quality of the draft report so that we can have an enduring plan at the end of this onerous task.
“It is therefore expected of us to properly dissect the Draft Report, review the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to be able to adequately benchmark the achievement of set targets so that the implementation of the Plan can be easily monitored.
“I have no doubt in my mind that with their experience and presence with us throughout this validation session, our discussions will be well tailored in the right direction so as to further enrich this document.
“I would like to thank the State Government under the leadership of our amiable Governor, Hon. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa for providing the funding window for the crafting of a Long-Term Development Plan for the State,” Igbasan said.
In an interview, the Chairman, House Committee on Finance and Appropriation, Hon. Oluwole Emmanuel Ogunmolasuyi, described the Long-Term Development Plan as long over due considering the components of the initiative.
Ogunmolasuyi said the parliament would continue to support the administration of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to achieve all-round development of the state.
In an address, the Acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry Of Economic Planning and Budget, Mr. B. J. Daisi, said “It has been established that without a well-crafted Plan, meaningful and sustainable development will only be a mirage. Hence, the commitment of the State Government towards the delivery of a Long-Term State Development Plan tagged “ONDO 2054” for an all-round Physical and Human Capital Development of the State.
“Having ascertained our present development statistics, the next endeavor towards achieving the Plan is to envision the kind of Ondo State we want to see and live in by the year 2054 which is the reason for today’s meeting.
“We are here today to review and validate the draft visioning and Sectoral Comparative Advantage report put together by the SDP Core-Working Groups under the guidance of the Consultants. Let me further state that today’s meeting will enable you to among other things,” Daisi said.
