By Dorothy Frances Ward
Kumasi Sept. 04 GNA – The government has been urged to speed-up the development of the Micro Finance Policy to help provide financial advice and services to Medium and Small-Scale Enterprises (MSEs), especially those in rural communities.
Government must also include the establishment of a Financial Literacy Centres to enable petty traders to seek advice, training on how to apply different financial skills effectively, as well as personal economic management and savings.
This would go a long way to reduce poverty, especially in the rural communities and boost the country’s economy.
Mr Tweneboah Kodua Boakye, Executive Secretary of the Ghana Association of Savings and Loans Companies (GHASALC), a network of financial institutions, made the call at a Financial Literacy Campaign organized for traders at the New Kejetia market in Kumasi.
The Financial Literacy Campaign was funded jointly by the German Development Cooperation (GIZ) and Bank of Ghana (BOG).
It aimed at educating the public, especially traders, on financial matters, when, where and how to save money.
It was also to help them know their expectations and duties when accessing loans, their right to complaints, how to protect their data, among others.
Mr. Boakye advised the traders to make sure they understood financial agreements before appending their signatures on loan agreement forms.
They must also ensure that the financial institutions they save with were accredited by the BOG.
He said SMEs formed most businesses in the country and so contributed immensely to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
He said a lot of SMEs were saving now and this would increase their access to loans.
Mr Boakye stressed the need for traders to be responsible with their moneys and save at the banks and not keep moneys home, adding that, they should also pay their loans in order not to have problems with the law.
They should also take-up insurance policies on their lives and shops and that they must disabuse their minds about the bad notions on insurance.
Mr Boakye again, stressed the need for traders be wary of financial institutions which offered huge interest rates, saying that most of such institutions were scammers, who would eventually bolt with their moneys.
Madam Afua Obeng Appiah, a trader at the Kejetia market said the education had enlightened her about how to manage her money.
She said she would increase her savings culture to be able to access loans to expand her business.
GNA