[ 2014-09-17 ]

Government secures $108 million loan
Sunyani, GNA – The government has secured $108
million loan from the International Fund for
Agricultural Development and the African
Development Bank to implement the third phase of
the Rural Development Programme (REP).
Mr Kweku Rickett Hagan, the Deputy Minister of
Trade and Industry, said the government was
providing additional $64 million to complement the
loan through counterpart funding.

He was speaking at the opening session of a
three-day workshop on the implementation of the
third phase of the REP for Municipal and District
Chief Executives and Coordinating Directors in
Sunyani on Monday.

Mr Hagan said the 1992 constitution charged
District Assemblies to promote and support
economic productive activities of individuals or
groups of persons.

The Local Government Act mandates the District
Assemblies to promote productive ventures by
removing obstacles to the growth of small and
medium enterprises, he explained.

Mr Hagan said that was why the government had
initiated and pursuing several policies such as
the REP, Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy and the
Ghana’s shared Growth and Development Agenda.

He called on the Assemblies to commit more
resources to the development of micro and small
businesses, which would ultimately benefit the
assemblies through increased taxes, property rates
and levies and the general wellbeing of the
people.

Mr Hagan appealed to District Chief Executives to
ensure that the resources provided under the
programme were used effectively for the benefit of
the rural poor.

He said the REP was interested in helping
especially the youth to engage in cassava, shea
nut, oil palm, salt, cashew, fruit or vegetables
processing, fish farming, bee keeping, guinea fowl
rearing or poultry and traditional crafts.

Mr Kwasi Attah-Antwi, the National Director of the
REP, said the programme was introduce in the
country in 1992 and successfully piloted in only
two districts in Ashanti and Brong-Ahafo regions
from 1995 to 1997 and then expanded to cover 13
additional districts in the regions.

He said at the end of the first phase of the
programme in 2002, 140,000 rural people had
benefited from project services and 2,710
profitable businesses had been established in the
13 districts.

Mr Attah-Antwi said at the close of the phase two
of the project in 2011, a total of 237,189 people
had benefited with 25,139 new businesses
established leading to the creation of 53,523
jobs.

He said currently the third phase of the
programme, which began in 2012, was being
implemented in 161 districts and expected to end
by 2020 and appealed to the district assemblies to
coordinate all resources to make it successful.

Mr Justice Samuel Adjei, the Deputy Brong-Ahafo
Regional Minister, appealed to the leadership of
all the project implementing districts to ensure
that the activities of the REP and other micro and
small enterprises development activities and
programmes were mainstreamed into the assembly
system.

Source - GNA

... go Back