Diette-Spiff wants govt, communities partnership in sustainable development

Bolaji Ogundele, Port Harcourt - 05.10.2008

A former military governor of old Rivers State, HRM Alfred Diette-Spiff, has advocated the need for development partners to dialogue with rural communities, in order to easily identify their immediate needs and apply resources in the proper direction.

Diette-Spiff, who spoke in Port Harcourt on Saturday ahead of the much-expected Rivers State Stakeholders Conference on Sustainable Development, emphasized that such fora would afford rural dwellers opportunities to exchange ideas and knowledge for the overall benefit of the communities.

The traditional ruler, who is one of the resource persons for the event scheduled for 12-18, October 2008, identified capacity building as a key step towards achieving sustainable development in the rural communities.

He said: “government must develop manpower through capacity building, training and retraining of the people to acquire basic skills. When they get these skills, it becomes self-sustaining. Government can not do everything because funds are not enough”.

The royal father is optimistic of the success of the summit, saying it would enable government and the people to design a blueprint for achieving sustainability and wealth creation.

According to him “It is good that you confer with communities and identify their basic needs, either through a conference or have people that monitor the areas. As one who wants to build a house, you must consult with a sound architect to design the house. Both parties have to contribute to designing the house”.

Meanwhile, the desk officer in charge of media and publicity at the conference committee, Freddy Ndigbara, has debunked criticisms that the event would turn out to be a jamboree, given the fact that government presumably knows the needs of the people and the money spent in inviting resource persons from home and abroad.

Ndigbara said the rural communities, who are mainly the target of the programme, would have a lot to gain, saying “there are a lot of resources in these rural communities that they can utilize for their own benefit. all they need is the knowledge to convert these resources to wealth-creating ventures. By so doing, they can become employable and impact on their surroundings”.

He said most of the resource persons expected are experts in their calling and have chosen to identify with the initiative of the Rivers state government, adding that the Zimbabwean farmers are also expected to come and educate farmers.