The reality of the Residency Card, otherwise called Kaadi Igbe Ayo, has dawned on Ondo State residents as they now need it to access key health care facilities. Particularly, pregnant women who want to enjoy free medical services at the Mother and Child Hospital and the Abiye Safe Motherhood Programme, among others, will now require the card to do so. Before the recent inauguration of the card by Governor Olusegun Mimiko administration, the government’s free medical services were said to be enjoyed mostly by non-residents and those who were not paying their taxes. But the new development would put a check to this.With that, it is now mandatory for all the residents of the state to register for the card so as to enjoy some free social services in four sectors which include health, agriculture, micro finance and education. Clearing the air on the reason the project took six years to be completed, Mimiko explained that the initiative followed a six-phase implementation agenda which, according to him, include data capture, exploratory pilot at Ifedore Local Government area in 2009, and commencement of training for the government service providers in 2010.
He added that in 2011 and 2012, data capturing took place in the 18 local government areas while computerisation of data, development of software application modules, procurement and installation of hardware as well as commencement of card collection by residents and continuation of training of service providers were carried out in 2013. Between 2013 and 2015, according to the governor, there was initial launch and mass production and distribution of the card. During this time also, there was a sensitisation for the card users, adding that more service providers were trained, which brought the number of public servants that had received training to 1,300 as of the time of the inauguration of the card.
Mimiko noted that the Civic Data Centre which was established mainly for the execution of project, had distributed over 400,000 cards to the people of the state. He said, “ Today, Kaadi Igbe-Ayo has moved to the next crucial phase – the commencement of the formal utilisation by some chosen key service providers across the state. “With this ceremony, Kaadi Igbe-Ayo becomes the entry visa into all state government social services from ourAbiye Safe Motherhood programme, to the micro-credit and economic empowerment, highly-subsidised agric input and supplies, free education and sundry others. Kaadi Igbe Ayo will not just be a new lexicon in our vocabulary but also an integral part of life in our Sunshine state.”
Source:Punch Online
