Category: Good Governance

On Wednesday, 3rd August 2022, members of the PAWED coalition embarked on an advocacy visit to the Enugu State Ministry of Information.

Participating in the advocacy visit were:

• Nkem Awachie (South Saharan)
• Ozor Modesta (AWITA)
• Nebo Collins (New Century Initiative)
• Chinyere Otuonye (Empowered to Empower Multipurpose Cooperative Society)

The participants were welcomed into the office of the Commissioner and sat down to have a meeting with the following officials present:

• Mrs.Ugochukwu Adimora (Head of Department)
• Ugwu Joe (Principal Executive Officer)

The participants introduced the PAWED project to the HOD, and explained that the advocacy visit came as a follow-up to a recently-concluded policy dialogue session on Women’s Economic Empowerment, to which various WEE stakeholders had been invited.

At the policy dialogue session, several issues surrounding WEE had been discussed, and after deliberations by stakeholders from different sectors, it was decided that the most urgent issue was “low public awareness of existing economic empowerment opportunities.”

The solution to this issue is threefold:

• to create a publicly-accessible online database of current economic empowerment opportunities
• to have a robust awareness campaign (especially through radio) for each economic empowerment opportunity created by the government
• to build the capacity of women in rural areas to be able to apply and partake in available economic empowerment opportunities.

The participants explained to the HOD that the Ministry of Information had been picked for this advocacy because they would be best positioned to receive data and information from all the state MDAs, and they are already in charge of disseminating information about Enugu state government activities.

The HOD thanked the participants for visiting and making recommendations but pointed out that Enugu state government already has an active website where they report news of all government activities and projects.

The participants explained that this advocacy request was not for the establishment of a general government website, but rather a separate website focused on economic empowerment where women and youths could go look for government-sponsored economic opportunities, without having to sift through tons of news reports about other government activities.

The HOD was open to the suggestion and asked for further ideas for the website. The participants suggested that the website should be searchable via different filters including type of opportunity, location, and responsible MDA. They also suggested that the website should have a section for non-governmental opportunities.

The HOD said she was on board with the suggestion and would raise it with other government officials, but was not making any promises, as the approval process could be very long and convoluted.

The participants thanked her and expressed the willingness of the PAWED coalition to provide partnership and support in the project creation and implementation.

On Friday, 29th July, members of the PAWED coalition embarked on an advocacy visit to the Enugu SME Agency.

Participating in the advocacy visit were:

• Nkem Awachie (South Saharan)
• Ozor Modesta (AWITA)
• Nebo Collins (New Century Initiative)
• Chinyere Otuonye (Empowered to Empower Multipurpose Cooperative Society)
• Jessica Ezieme (South Saharan)
• Chinasa Onuoha (FIDAN)

The participants were welcomed into the office of the Director- Arinze Chilo-Offiah. They introduced the PAWED project to him and explained that the advocacy visit came as a follow-up to a recently-concluded policy dialogue session on Women’s Economic Empowerment, to which he had been invited.

At the policy dialogue session, several issues surrounding WEE had been discussed, and after deliberations by stakeholders from different sectors, it was decided that the most urgent issue was “low public awareness of existing economic empowerment opportunities“.

The solution to this issue is threefold:

• to create a publicly-accessible online database of current economic empowerment opportunities
• to have a robust awareness campaign (especially through radio) for each economic empowerment opportunity created by the government
• to build the capacity of women in rural areas to be able to apply and partake in available economic empowerment opportunities.

The participants informed the Director that the SME Centre had been pinpointed as a worthy MDA to undertake the creation of the online database for current economic empowerment opportunities. Due to the fact that the SME Centre is already focused on economic empowerment and has an active website and online presence, which is indicative of the fact that they have the know-how to implement this solution.

The Director informed the participants that they already had programs which they had implemented, but would not be able to handle a central online database for economic opportunities, as they did not have that information.

He hinted at the fact the upcoming change in government might affect the willingness of current office holders to start new projects, but he offered to share a brochure of the SME Centre’s projects.

The participants thanked him, and the visit came to an end.

On Thursday, 28th July, members of the PAWED coalition embarked on an advocacy visit to the Enugu State Ministry of Budget and Planning.

Participating in the advocacy visit were:

• Nkem Awachie (South Saharan)
• Ozor Modesta (AWITA)
• Chinasa Onuoha (FIDAN)

The participants were welcomed into the office of the Commissioner and sat down to have a meeting with the following officials present:

• Hon. Dr. David Ugwunta (Hon. Commissioner for Budget and Planning)
• Bar. Emeka Ngene (HOD Admin and Supply)
• Mrs. Clara Eze (HOD Budget)
• Mrs Okenwa Ndidiamaka (HOD Accounts)

They introduced themselves and the PAWED project. They explained that the advocacy visit came as a follow-up to the recently-concluded policy dialogue session on Women’s Economic Empowerment, which the Commissioner himself had attended.

At the policy dialogue session, several issues surrounding WEE had been discussed, and after deliberations by stakeholders from different sectors, it was decided that the most urgent issue was “low public awareness of existing economic empowerment opportunities“.

The solution to this issue is threefold:

• to create a publicly-accessible online database of current economic empowerment opportunities
• to have a robust awareness campaign (especially through radio) for each economic empowerment opportunity created by the government
• to build the capacity of women in rural areas to be able to apply and partake in avfailable economic empowerment opportunities.

The participants explained that they understood that the Ministry of Budget and Planning was not responsible for creating or implementing projects, but the objective of the advocacy was to:

• appeal to the Ministry that programs and projects that foster WEE in the state be captured and approved in subsequent government budgets
• declare readiness to collaborate with the Ministry where necessary in order to make sure that women have a better business environment as well as support and sponsorship from the state government.

The Honorable Commissioner commended the Coalition’s passion in advocating for Women’s Economic Empowerment.

He noted that the state government was already making great strides towards gender equality, and mentioned several government MDAs headed by women, including the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Special Duties, the Post Primary Schools Management Board (PPSMB), and the Enugu State Waste Management Authority (ESWAMA).

He also called their attention to ongoing economic empowerment programmes by the government but agreed that indeed there is a need for increasing public awareness of existing economic opportunities. He suggested that the coalition should work with MDAs like the Enugu SME Centre or the Ministry of Information to create a program that would fill this need.

He expressed the willingness of his Ministry to work with the coalition and support advances for WEE.

On Thursday, 9th June 2022, members of the PAWED coalition embarked on and advocacy visit to the Enugu State Economic Planning Commission.

Participating in the advocacy visit were:

• Nkem Awachie (South Saharan)
• Nebo Collins (New Century Initiative)

The participants were welcomed into the office of the Director and sat down to have a meeting with the following officials present:

• Mr. Dan Onyishi (The Director)
• Barr. Ifeoma Chukwurah (Legal Advisor)

The participants introduced themselves and the PAWED project. They explained that the advocacy visit came as a follow-up to the recently-concluded policy dialogue session on Women’s Economic Empowerment.

At the policy dialogue session, one major issue raised was the inadequate budgetary allocations for the implementation of policies and projects for women’s economic empowerment.

Hence, the participants recommended that the Economic Planning Commission:

• Work to increase the budgetary allocation for the implementation of WEE projects and policies in Enugu State.
• Ensure that WEE budget items are duly implemented, not rendered ineffective by bureaucratic bottlenecks.
• Ensure transparency in the awarding of contracts and selection of beneficiaries for WEE projects and policies.

The Director commended the coalition members on their proactive pursuit of Economic Empowerment for women.

He pointed out that the government already has a number of economic schemes and programmes, of which many of the beneficiaries are women. He however, could not immediately provide links to these programs, which indicated a need for an easily accessible online database for government economic empowerment programs and opportunities.

He also mentioned that they had taken steps to facilitate poverty alleviation and socio-economic empowerment of citizens by producing a Social Protection Policy for Enugu State. The Policy represents Enugu State’s adoption and domestication of the National Social Protection Policy, putting in mind the indigenous culture and aspirations of the people. It encompasses measures that could be adopted to enhance the social well-being of the citizens of the State, as well as implementation framework and modalities for effective monitoring.

He however admitted that more could still be done, but that would be within the purview of other Ministries responsible for the direct implementation of economic programs and schemes.

He assured the participants that the Economic Planning Commission is open and proactive, and would be happy to support the push for Women’s Economic Empowerment in Enugu state.