ADDRESS BY CC MARTIN AYUBA DAPEL rtd. MNSE, FCAI + rss PRESIDENT OF MHISHIP COMMUNITY AND CULTURAL ASSOCIATION DEVELOPMENT DURING THE NATIONAL WORKING COMMITTEE MEETING ON THE 12 JUNE 2025 AT ITS NATIONAL HQ. NO.1 MCCDA CLOSE YANGSHONG.

PROTOCOL

I welcome the distinguished Long Mhiship and guest to our first National working committee of Mhiship Community and Cultural Development Association, taking place for the very first time in our Townhall, that is our pride of harnessing our ideas together as a People.

We have come a long way as a people to agree to be united in purpose to develop our chiefdom, by negating our differences but agreeing that we are but Mhiship United but in  purpose of developing our Chiefdom to make it’s pride in the 21st century.

Today, we gather with a shared vision to harness the power of strategic planning and entrepreneurial skills as potent tools in our quest to alleviate poverty and address insecurity within our chiefdom.

OUR CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

We face significant hurdles which include but not exhaustive; climate change, global financial shocks in all our inputs for prosperity and growing insecurity resulting in kidnapping, banditry, drug addiction, which threatens our progress and stability.

However, these challenges present opportunities for innovation, collaboration and growth.

STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR DEVELOPMENT

To move forward, the MCCDA fund raising committee did set up a “Strategy Planning Committee” which has since submitted its report and has since been adopted as a working document. This certainly involves:

• Short term plans: one-year development plan period,
  with specific objectives and targets.
• Medium-term plans: five-year development plans focusing on
  sustainable growth and development.
• Long term plans: ten-year or more aimed at achieving transformative change.

ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS FOR POVERTY ALLEVIATION

Entrepreneurship is key to unlocking economic potential and creating opportunities for our youths, By equipping them with the necessary skills and resources, we can empower them to drive innovation and growth. This we are willing to unlock through our plans for our Chiefdom through  skill acquisition in ICT, Carpentry and joinery for internal decoration, general areas of animal husbandry,  fishery, rabbit rearing, piggery and other livestock methods.

However, we are already collaborating with ITF, NDE and SMEADAN.

ADDRESSING INSECURITY

To address insecurity in our chiefdom, we must be first united against negative tendencies. we must prioritize community engagement, social investment and inclusive development planning which include:

1. Community Engagement:

Fostering trust and cooperation between government agencies
and local communities.

2. Social Investment:

Implementing programs that support vulnerable groups which are our own youth and women and promote economic empowerment.

3. Inclusive Development Planning:

Ensuring that development plans are equitable, sustainable and responsive to community needs.

CALL TO ACTION

Let us work together to build resilience, promote economic growth and reduce poverty among our people, we must:

1. Be Bold and Innovative: by embracing new solutions and approaches to tackle complex development challenges.
2. Coordinate Action: collaborating with development partners, lovers of our communities, government and local communities to achieve scalable impact through decision making.
3. Empower Local Communities: Providing resources and support to enable communities to take ownership of their development.

Together, we can create a brighter future for our chiefdom, where every individual has the opportunity to thrive and contribute to our collective prosperity.

OUR ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE LAST TWO YEARS

Our aspiration of community’s development plan should be modernisation by shaking off what is obviously obsolete way of life and embracing the new knowledge.

Our planning must have vision for us to see into the future, this dictates that whatever the community needs, we must be able to produce in sufficient quantity, no matter the difficulty and quality of the product.

This can be overcome over time within depth commitment.
We can start from one year development plans and we make sure it is accomplished.

This is how far we have gone.

1. We have created the spirit of oneness in accomplishing our task.
2. We have completed our townhall.
3. We have powered the hall with 24 hours solar energy infrastructure for the take-off of skill acquisition.
4. We have safeguarded the premises through fencing.
5. We have driven development through the Rice Milling plant
6. In partnership we now have 24 hours motorized borehole which is equally used by neighbouring communities.
7. We have acquired more land for further future development.
8. We have graded access road into the premises
9. We are now planting trees for a friendly eco-system with our environment.
10. We are at the verge of launching the skill acquisition; now that we have the needed infrastructure in place.
11. We now have a website and the whole world can access and see us as giants.

However, we are still far from attracting development if there is no security and safety of our environment.  We must therefore be deliberate to enhance community policing by strengthening our relationship and having a based law enforcement agency against criminalities.
We can achieve this by implementing community-based security initiatives with concerns and promote community vigilance.
We therefore need to be deliberate as a people to partner with security institutions by working towards attracting higher existing apparatus of any of the law enforcement agencies.

To our guest the Long Mhiship and the district heads present, we thank you for your leadership with all the village heads for safeguarding our heritage and our people.

Our last outing of BHIT MHISHIP 2025 has opened up space and opportunities in which we are to leveraging on.

May I now welcome all our very abled chairmen and secretaries of our CDAs, to our first national working Committee  meeting

Lets enjoy the deliberations.
This is NWC meeting of 2025.

Thank you for listening.

Author: MCCDA