Regional News of Saturday, 17 July 2004

Source: GNA

Government is committed to eradication of poverty

Wusuta (V/R), July 17, GNA- Mr Pius Adanuti, Kpando District Chief Executive (DCE) has said government would continue to facilitate poverty reduction and wealth creation for sustainable self-sufficiency throughout the country.

He therefore, exhorted interested groups and individuals to take advantage of such programmes to enable them to earn decent lives. Mr Adanuti was speaking at a graduation ceremony for 30 women trained by the Progressive Women's Movement (PWM), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) at Wusuta in the Kpando District on Friday. Those trained undertook two months course in batik, tie and dye and bookkeeping which was funded under the British Government Small Grant Scheme (SGS), an income generating and poverty reduction programme with 109 million cedis.

Mr Adanuti urged the women to access the credit facility of the National Board For Small Scale Industries NBSSI) and Business Advisory Centre (BAC) facility to showcase their training for the benefit of other community members.

He said the Kpando District Assembly would re-activate the defunct Kpebe market near Wusuta.

Mr Gordon Wetherell, the British High Commissioner to Ghana said the SGS is designed to benefit the rural poor who have met the condition for assistance to make them self-reliant.

He urged those who received the training to pass the knowledge they have acquired to other community members in order to solve socio-economic problems facing them.

Nana Kesewa II, Executive Director of the Movement said her organisation has contributed 16 million cedis as counterpart funding for the project and hoped the programme would address the rural-urban drift of the youth.

She said the aim of the group is to initiate appropriate programme to enhance the socio-economic, health, and moral status of women for them to contribute meaningfully towards the development of their communities. Miss Dorothy Kofikuma, a beneficiary, said the training would go a long way to make them self sufficient and urged the Kpando District Assembly to support them access funds from the poverty reduction programmes.