•On the 24th April, 2017 this special committee went to the 17 Local Government Areas of Enugu State to Visit Every Community (VEC) and to find out among other things, their Key Developmental Needs (KDNs) for the Government to intervene. It ended on 12th May 2017. Every community was visited separately. No two communities were merged at one meeting center.
(A) BEFORE THE VISITS
a)Selection of Participants (State, LG and Community)
b)Training of Participants
c)Publicity of the Visits
d)Time Table Publication
e)Logistics and Materials
(B) DURING THE VISITS
The Visit took place at every Community Square.
Community Stakeholders e.g.
a)Traditional Rulers and their Cabinet members,
b)Presidents General and Town Union members
c)Government functionaries,
d)Political and Business Class,
e)Faith Based Organizations (FBOs)
f)Civil Society Groups,
g)Women and Youths’ Organizations and the entire citizens of the Community were engaged in Town Hall interactive sessions.
Also during the Visit, Communities were sensitized on the:
1.Ugwuanyi’s New 4-Point Agenda,
2.SDGs, (Sustainable Development Goals)
3.Civic Responsibilities like Voter Registration, Maintenance of Rural Infrastructures, Maintenance of peace and Security of lives and properties.
4.Inauguration of Community VEC Committees (CVCs)
(C) AFTER THE VISITS
a)Report Confirmation
b)Report Validation
c)Report Preparation
d)Report Presentation
e)Report Production
f)Report Distribution
g)Report Usage
VEC FINDINGS
ØNew communities recently created were identified.
ØThe Key developmental needs (KDNs) of all the 472 Communities in Enugu State and in their order of priorities were identified.
ØThe number of ongoing, completed and abandoned projects in ALL the Communities; and the status of their implementation etc were identified.
ØThe economic resources in ALL Communities, whether in the soil, river or on the soil, were known. Tourist sites, Mineral deposits were identified.
ØThe economic resources which each community has a comparative advantage over others were identified.
ØPolitical and Economic Structures among others in every community were identified.
ØThere is not yet any collaboration between our Tertiary institutions with our MDAs and LGCs.
ØMost LGC Chairmen live outside their LGAs. This has not deepened good governance in LG administration.
ØMost of our Health Institutions don’t have residential quarters for their key staff. This has affected service provision especially in rural areas.
ØThere are still many uncompleted projects from the past administration, most of which require little funding for completion and usage.
ØMost Rural Water projects have failed.
ØOur age long traditional institutions like Social Clubs, Age Grades, etc. which have contributed towards growth and development of their respective communities have been abandoned in many communities.
ØMore than 97% of our Citizens still use out of pocket (OOP) payment for the health bills. This has led most of our household to a catastrophic health expenditure (CHE). Community Based Health Insurance Scheme (CBHIS) needs to be introduced urgently in the state.
ØEmene Vocational Home sitting on about 103 hectares with more than 30 buildings is grossly underutilized.
ØEnugu state has no Leprosarium for the treatment of our teaming lepers.
ØMost of our public institutions like primary/Secondary schools, health centers etc are not fenced and have no toilet facilities.
ØSome community names are conflicting and some threaten existing peace.