As part of efforts to ensure that more poor and vulnerable people are captured in the State Social Register, the State Operation Coordinating Unit of the Youth Employment and Social Support Operation YESSO has been called upon to expedite action on the update of the register.
This called was made by the Bureau of Social Services (BOSS) when receiving the State Coordinator of State Operation Coordinating Unit, Mr. Olabamiji Ahmed who led the leadership of SOCU to brief the Bureau on their activities.
According to the SOCU State Coordinator, between 2014 and 2019, the unit has registered 118, 905 households while 307,330 poor and vulnerable individuals have been captured. He added that 10,618 youths were enrolled from July 2019 till May 2020 under the public workfare.
Mr Ahmed told the monitoring team of BOSS that his agency has covered 3,164 out of 7,371 communities in Osun State which is equivalent to 42% of the total number of communities in the state.
The State Social Register according to YESSO boss has been used by UNICEF, Federal Government and other relevant donor agencies and development partners in the distribution of palliatives especially during the COVID-19 pandemic to reach out to the poor and vulnerable people in various communities across the state.
Fielding question from BOSS Team, the State Coordinator explained that YESSO is a World Bank Assisted Programme with counterpart funding from the State Government. While stressing the important of accurate data collection, the YESSO boss said it will assist government in accurate planning of social welfare services.
He added that members of the selected communities chose those considered to be the poorest and most vulnerable among themselves using a Bottom-Top approach.
Highlighting some of the components of YESSO, Mr. Ahmed said the Public Workfare is designed to engage youths between ages 18 and 45 years with less than Jss3 certificates are engaged to work for their communities on a monthly stipend of N 7, 500 while the skills for Job scheme afford youths with minimum of SSCE vocational training under the National Directorate of Employment on a monthly stipend of N7, 500.
In his remark, the Director-General of the Bureau of Social Services, Mr. Richard Tinubu who was represented by the Director of Admin. & Supply, Mr. Wole Ajewole explained that BOSS is concerned with the need to ensuring that more people who fits into the category of poor and vulnerable resident in the State of Osun benefit from the social intervention prorgramme of the state Government such as the Special Grant Transfer, PWF among others.
The Bureau urged SOCU to step up its oversight function in monitoring disbursement of found by the donor agencies to the Project Implementation Units and from the PIUs to the beneficiaries. It was emphasized that the state government will continue to expand the social safety net in order to improve the welfare of her people.
The State Coordinator was therefore directed to furnish BOSS with the details of funds received and disbursed by YESSO in Osun State.
