With substantial budget in place, Community Service Directorate this year will be in the thick of things. The annual allocation of ETB 25,517,700 will help propel all of its activities to profitable conclusion thus making community the ultimate beneficiary.
Community Service Directorate Director, Dr Teklu Wegayehu, unraveling said, last year we had done satisfactorily well using 98% of budget, wherein our key activities i.e. Adult Education, Free Legal Services and STEM project which have made great impact.
Elaborating further, he said, some of the projects are in-progress, which will continue and some time-bound are expected to come up with desired analysis so that outcomes will be utilized for people’s welfare. That apart, this time, 10 more projects will make its mandate more credible. The allocation for time-bound (one-year) project ranges from ETB 200,000 to 300,000.
The available statistics states that following amount has been distributed to the Community Service Coordination offices located at Institute, colleges and schools are as follow, Institute of Technology, College of Natural Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, College of Agricultural Sciences, School of Law, Sawla Campus and School of Pedagogy & Behavioral Sciences got ETB 200,000 each; while College of Business and Economics ETB 500,000 and College of Social Sciences and Humanities grabbed ETB 340,000.
It’s learnt, that distribution of funds in Community Service doesn’t have any cap, because it depends upon the performance of respective projects at times exceeds timeframe. So, as and when any specific projects show promising results conditional allocation is made for it, he said.
In the first quarter, he said, Community Service could earn modest income of ETB 506,897, from Community School (ETB 212,800), Seedling sale (ETB 4,097) and Consultancy Services (ETB 290,000).
On involvement of staff, he said, last year, it was 40% and this year it’s expected to be around 50% in different Community Service projects. On notable achievement, he said, last year, adult education, legal service, nursery, consultancy and short-term trainings have done exceptionally well. But, stalled construction at Limat School has been cause of concern.
On food security projects, he said, project aimed at boosting product and productivity of animal at Chencha, Mirab Abaya and Arba Minch, couldn’t take off. Now, projects at Chencha and Mirab Abaya are involved in artificial insemination for better breed and modern animal feed is being cultivated and seedlings are distributed in the designated locations.
On Global collaboration, he said the Sahay Solar Project has been a bright spot that made us proud for successfully installing of 24 solar units at seven schools and 17 Health Centers in Gamo Gofa Zone; four more systems have also been installed at four schools in this quarter.
On future planning, he said, Community Service is scheduling to work in close collaboration with stakeholders and planning prioritized problems to be addressed first.
(Corporate Communication Directorate)