Financial institutions urged to support women in trade

07-04-2010 Financial institutions urged to support women in trade
The Member of Parliament for the Nabdam Constituency, Moses Asaga has charged the various financial institutions to assist women who are engaged in income generating activities with loans and grants to enhance their respective businesses. Mr Asaga was speaking at the inauguration of the Sirig-Meng Women Association, a non-political group based at Pelungu in the Talensi-Nabdam District of the Upper East Region. Mr Asaga, who is also a founding member of the association, was of the view that if women are able to access loans and capital from banks it could help ease the financial burdens on their spouses and also reduce the level of poverty among them. He said he will ensure that the Sirig-meng women’s Association, which is the first of its kind in the Nabdam area, is given the needed support to boost their activities. On unemployment among the youth in the area, Mr Asaga said his outfits in collaboration with other stakeholders have put in place adequate steps in providing job opportunities for the youth in the area especially in the mechanized farming. The Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, Mrs. Lucy Awuni, on her part entreated members of the association not to relent on their effort in ensuring that the association achieved its set objectives. She mentioned poverty, ignorance, lack of access to properties and loans, diseases among others as some of problems confronting women in the district. She however advised the women to put premium in their wards education to help arrest some of these challenges. Mr Awuni also urged the women to conform to the rules and regulations of the association to make it viable. The District Chief Executive for Talensi-Nabdam, Mrs Vivian Anarfo described the theme for the occasion “Support Women Today for Socio Economic Development” as appropriate since women in the region are in dire need of support to enhancing their small-scale businesses. She noted that women’s inability to access loans from banks would be a thing of the past as some financial institutions have expresses their interest in establishing rural banks in the area to enable traders’ access loans. The leader of the women’s group, Mrs Rose Gani, appealed to the government and other stakeholders to come to aid of the women for a worthy cause.
GBC END IA/