The Ondo state government has announced its palliative measures to cushion the effects of the subsidy removal on the residents of the state.
To this end, the government has announced the distribution of food items to one million households across the state, returning of the free school buses, free transportation for workers, and monthly stipend of N10,000 to pensioners.
Chairman of the Ondo state palliative committee and commissioner for finance in the state, Wale Akinteriwa said this while rolling out measures put in place by the state government to cushion the effects of subsidy removal on residents of the state, particularly civil servants and students.
Akinterinwa, who is the Chairman Palliative Strategy and Implementation Committee, said that on transportation, the state government “will restore free shuttle buses for students starting from resumption in September, till December 31st.
“Additional CNG Buses will be purchased to convey of public servants, to and from work at no cost to them, till December 31st.
” In addition to the provision of free shuttle buses earlier mentioned, there will be immediate payment of 2020 leave bonus to public servants.
“It should be noted that the state government has already paid leave bonuses for 2021, 2022 and 2023.
On Social Intervention, the commissioner said that “unconditional cash transfer – For three months, ten thousand Naira (N10,000) will be given to selected vulnerable persons in every local government.
“All pensioners in the state, be they local government or state, will get ten thousand Naira (N10,000) each starting this August till December 2023.
“Free food packages will be distributed to 1 million households across the 18 local government the state.
“Farm inputs at subsidized rates will be made available to farmers. Our poultry and fish farmers will be given free drugs, maize, and feeds for their birds and fishes. In addition, training on local feed formulation and production will be given to them, to help them look inwards.
“Agrochemicals, seeds, drip lines, farm tools and power tillers will be given at subsidized rates. In riverine areas, free fishing nets and subsidized kilns will be made available.
“To ease the movement of farm produce, tricycles will be given free to farming communities. This will be supervised by officially recognized, community-based stakeholder groups.
“The state government has authorized immediate suspension of haulage fee collection on all non-graded agricultural produce. These are produce that are consumed locally and not for export.
The commissioner added that the state government has suspended hospital registration and consultation fees.
Akinterinwa said that “Government will reimburse the hospitals directly based on existing data.
According to him, Small and Medium Enterprises. Various categories of small and medium enterprises will benefit from the state government’s financial assistance. The money to nano, small, medium enterprises will be disbursed through existing government channels. READ ALSO:
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“Students who are engaged in nano businesses on campus are not excluded.
” They will also get financial support. The money to nano, small, medium enterprises will be disbursed through existing government channels.
The commissioner added that ” Students who run nano businesses on campus are not left out. They will also get monetary support.
