The SCD strategy places greater emphasis on partnerships, not just with the communities themselves, but also with government and strategic local and international development organisations and non-governmental organisations. Such partnerships complement our own efforts, and enable solutions to be developed that we may not be able to achieve on our own, thereby accelerating developmental and employment-generating opportunities across the region. Two such partnerships have been entered into. With USAID – a 5-year $20 million agreement that will develop Nigerian capacity in agriculture, health and business enterprise; and with Africare – a 3-year $4.5 million partnership that will focus on reducing deaths from malaria.
Apart from leveraging expertise and additional development funding into the Niger Delta, these partnerships will offer excellent opportunities for improved cultivation for farmers, increased access to domestic and overseas markets, development of local industry and agro-allied enterprise. They will also increase opportunities for local employment and capacity building, and help to improve the local economy. Implementation of the programmes under these partnerships began in 2004, whilst discussions are ongoing to develop further partnerships with other local and international organisations.
We also partner with government agencies, such as the Niger Delta Development Council, in order to build a closer and more supportive relationship with government in its primary role of providing basic infrastructure and services for its citizens. SPDC also makes an annual statutory contribution to the funding of the NDDC. In 2004, the amount contributed was $68.9 million.
In 2004, SPDC signed an $18 million, 5-year Memorandum of Understanding with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in July.
On a much smaller scale, but with the potential for a significant employment impact, a two-year Telecoms Self-Employment Programme (TELSEP) partnership was signed in 2004 with Globacom, a Nigerian telecommunications company.
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