A 5-day training on Grievances Redress Mechanisms (GRM) implementation for stakeholders in Gombe State has commenced with a call on the stakeholders to ensure that all grievances are amicably resolved.
The training was organised by the Gombe State Agro-climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) to ensure the smooth implementation of the project in the state.
Speaking at the opening of the training in Bauchi on Thursday, Commissioner of Environmental, Mohammed Saidu Fawu, said that the training was organised to put all the stakeholders together so that they would be well informed with respect to the procedure for grievance resolution.
He added that, “You know, Gombe State Government and ACReSAL, through the World Bank, have commenced the connection of Mallam Inna to Bima Hills; sometime in 2023, they will commence the issuance of cheques for compensation. You know we are all human beings; definitely there will be grievances.”
The Commissioner added that the training was to ensure that everyone was on board in resolving the issues without having to resort to legal issues, which would delay the implementation of the project.
He assured that all the stakeholders have been brought to the meeting so that they will in turn go back to their respective places and step down, expressing optimism that, if carefully followed, issues of grievances will be amicably resolved.
Also speaking, the Gombe ACReSAL Project Coordinator, Dr. Sani Adamu Jauro, said that the stakeholders, including traditional institutions, media, line MDAs, and others, were brought together to understand the concept of the project.
He added that the main focus is the grievance redress mechanism because, according to him, “as a project participant, you need to know your rights and the rights of others working with you.”
We want a situation where everything we are doing is within the purview of the project. We want everyone involved to be aware of things to do and not to do. We have all our desk officers from the eleven LGAs in the state here. We want them to be carried along in the implementation of the project.”
The ACReSAL PC urged the participants to ensure that they listened attentively in order to have something they would take back home at the end of the workshop so that all grievances could be effectively handled by them.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the State GRM Implementing Committee, Alh Abubakar Isa, commended ACReSAL management for the meeting, which he said came at the right time and aimed at resolving grievances easily.
He assured that the committee will ensure that whatever grievance may arise while the project is implemented is resolved amicably for the good of the beneficiaries across the state.
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