The Northern Chapter of the Ghana Co-operatives Credit Unions Association (CUA) together with other cooperatives across the country at the weekend embarked on a float in Tamale to celebrate and commemorate the 2019 International Credit Union (ICU) Day.

This was to help showcase to the public, the values and roles of credit unions in contributing to sustainable development as well as promoting its achievements and membership experience.

The float was celebrated under the theme: "Local Service, Global Reach ". The exercise started from the Tamale Jubilee Park through the Tamale Main Town traffic light to Afa Ajura Mosque at Sakasaka through to the Agric traffic light and from there to Choggu Roundabout and finally to the Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium .

A free health screening exercise was also carried out for members of the public to examine their health status including Blood Pressure and HIV amongst others.

Addressing members at the Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium, Mr Emmanuel Coffie, General Manager of CUA, assured the public of the safety and security of their assets within CUA and called on all to join the great movement.

He said some key products of CUA such as Central Finance Facility (CFF) and the Risk Management products among others were performing well in terms of providing social support and guaranteed trust to members.

Mr Coffie said in 2019, the CFF mobilised contributions to about GH¢ 22.5 million from members of the credit unions and honoured withdrawal of GH¢ 8.4 million and granted loans to members of about GH¢ 10.1 million.

He said the Risk Management product has mobilised a total of GH¢ 5.7 million and paid debt of 2.5 million to members saving them from severe financial burdens.

He said many credit unions fail to submit their reports on time and urged all the unions to ensure timely submission of reports to ensure effective and efficient data analysis.

Mr Thomas Azuure, the Board Chairman for the Northern Chapter of the Ghana Co-operatives Credit Unions Association, called on the unions to improve on providing efficient services to its clients by adopting new technology.

He urged CUA to do its supervision and monitoring more vigorously to ensure transparency and accountability and improve on service delivery.

Professor Francis Obeng, the Director of Third Trimester Field Practice Program (TTFPP) at the University for Development Studies (UDS), commended CUA for their efforts in surviving the financial crisis at both national and international levels through the adoption of tried and tested innovative practices.

He said this has given the movement a competitive advantage in the micro finance sector and urged them to do more.

Mrs Prudence Yaro, Administrator at the Narcotics Control Board, Tamale called on parents to advice their children on the negative effects of consuming illicit drugs such as tramadol, heroin and cocaine.

She said this would help them save money for productive purposes instead of wasting money to treat drug abuse victims.