Abuja: 625 Report for Youths Environmental Volunteer Scheme
Environment
By Dan Ede
At the last count, about 625 youths in the Federal Capital Territory have shown interest in the Youths Environmental Volunteer Scheme recently approved by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai.
The volunteer scheme, according to THISDAY checks, will function as a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO).
The scheme, initiated by the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), dovetails into the minister's policy of engaging the unemployed youths in his domain as well as privatising the cleaning of Abuja.
Scheduled to take off on July 1, 2004, the scheme has already engendered the interest of many organisations, including the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), the National Poverty Allevia-tion Programme (NAPEP) and even the World Bank, THISDAY checks revealed.
In the on-going negotiations over the partnership for the scheme, NDE, which had initially applied to recruit the youths while the AEPB pays, is being asked to see to the training of the volunteers, as AEPB has already recruited interested candidates, according to sources.
On the other hand, NAPEP is to supply the tools such as mowing machines to be used by the volunteers on loan basis; while payment for the tools, deductible from the stipends of the volunteers, will be spread over many years, THISDAY gathered.
After full payment, the tool becomes the property of the volunteer who uses it.
The World Bank is rather interested in building public toilets which will be manned by these volunteers.
Meanwhile, the FCT Minister has taken responsibility for the retrenchment exercise to be carried out at the Abuja Environmental Protection Board.
The minister said this while receiving leaders of the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service, Technical and Recreations Services Employees (AUPCTRE) recently.
Mallam el-Rufai, explaining that leadership requires responsibility, said that many of the board's staff were not qualified to be there since most of them had been found to be very corrupt in the past.
He, however, promised to pay the entitlements and gratuity of those to be affected by the retrenchment exercise.
He also said that they might be supported in securing a small loan that would enable them start a business.
The minister equally disclosed that private companies had been engaged to undertake the cleaning of the FCT and such companies were to be supervised by yet to be employed graduates, arguing that it had become imperative for the ministry's agencies to fare better.
The FCT Chairman of the AUPCTRE, Comrade Abdulahi Abba, who led the delegation, had earlier stated that their visit was in respect of the retrenchment exercise being embarked upon by the authorities of the AEPB and the deductions in the workers' salaries at the FCT Water Board.
Abba explained that it was natural for the workers to be apprehensive of retrenchment; and it was also the duty of the union to protect the job of its members.
But the minister directed them to dialogue with the Director of the AEPB, "as it is only good jobs that can be protected".
He, however, disclosed that most of the staff to be retrenched fell within the school certificate level.
|
