By Chimezie Godfrey
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, has delivered three trucks of rice as part of the COVID-19 pandemic palliatives to the Katsina state government.
In a statement on Sunday, the Minister said that the palliatives is intended for distribution to the less privileged, vulnerable and people living with disabilities, with the view to cushioning the effects of the lockdown, designed to check the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
The Minister, represented by the Deputy Director, Disaster Management, Abubakar Suleiman also inaugurated the disbursement of TraderMoni and MarketMoni to hundreds of beneficiaries in the state, to help them start-up new or expand their existing micro-buinesses.
“Both the delivery of the palliatives rice and the disbursement of TraderMoni were on the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari during his address to the nation on March 29, 2020,” she said.
While Special Adviser and Focal Person on Humanitarian Affairs, Abubakar M. Nasir, took delivery of the trucks of rice and joined in flagging- off the TraderMoni and MarketMoni on behalf of the State Governor, Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari.
Farouq explained that the Trader Moni is a N10,000 loan in the first instance traders that depend on daily income, while the N5,000 MarketMoni is for providers of essential services, including shoe-makers and vulcanisers.
She further disclosed that the first phase of the Conditional Cash Transfer of N20,000 to the poor and vulnerable households in the state has been concluded.
She also revealed that as of April 17th, 2020, a total of 428,941 beneficiaries have been paid in 24 states, with 130,455 of them from Katsina State.
“President Muhammadu Buhari has set up a technical committee to work with the Ministry to expand the National Social Register by one million additional households in order to include more vulnerable people whose conditions are at risk as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said.
Masari expressed gratitude to the Federal Government and the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development for delivering the palliatives.
He commended the Bank of Industry and praised the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) initiative, which he said came at the right time to cushion the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the citizens.
