In June 2020, the Borno State Government produced its maiden “25-Year Development Framework” and a “10-Year Strategic Transformation Plan” in one document which envisioned the state to be “a secure, competitive agric-business and commercial hub anchored on prosperous dignified people and sustainable development” with the mission “to restore the age-old honour, dignity and prosperity of the state, while ensuring that all citizens and future generations have access to necessities of life and thrive at every stage of their lives.” The document laid out elaborate principles and pillars to achieve the goals and placed the burden of implementation on key critical stakeholders, particularly the civil servants and elected local government officials.
2. Based on the susbsisting unwrittren but valid understanding between the Savannah Centre and the Borno State Government, the Centre (SCDDD) submitted a consultancy proposal which the State Government happily accepted for the conduct of a four day Workshop for the elected local government and key civil servants from the state and local government councils titled, “Good Governance and Effective Implementation of the Borno State 25-Year Development Framework and 10-Year Strategic Transformation Plan 2020.” This was informed by the consideration that most of the elected and local government officials, identified as critical stakeholders in the implementation processes, would not have known about the existence of the State’s dvelopment framework and their crucial role in its implementation.
Goal and Objectives
3. The main goal of the project was to increase the awareness of the participants, particularly, the elected local government officials about the State’s Development Framework and its centrality to the development of the State and the 27 Local Government Areas as well as how they (participants) would use the understanding and knowledge to be shared during the 4-day capacity-enhancement programme to draw up development plans and implementation strategies with timelines for their respective LGAs.
4. The Caapacity-building strategies, with Joining Guidelines (see annextures), were framed on five strategic drivers and four enablers of the strategic pillars as identified inthe developwment framework: Human Capital Development; Leadership in Agriculture; Healthy Citizenry; Sustainable Environment; and Regional Trade Hub and the enablers as Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement; Purposeful Infrastructure Devfelopment; Accountable Governance; and Peace and Security. In specific terms, the workshop aimed to:
- conduct an overview of the 10-Year Strategic Transformation Plan with a view to determining the present state of affairs;
- identify and provide action-based solutions to the challenges faced in each pillar of the plan; and
- assist each LGA to produce a sample work plan and implementation strategy with timelines at the end of the workshop.
