THE Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, Mr Mohammed Mumuni, has proposed the promulgation of an Act of Parliament to strengthen the capacity of credit unions in the country.

This is because the non-financial institution law does not adequately cater for credit unions, he explained and stressed the need for steps to be taken to enhance their revenue-mobilisation capabilities to enable them to support the national reconstruction effort.

Mr Mumuni said this when he presented the report of an eight-member government delegation to the International Credit Union Forum in Vancouver, Canada, to the Canadian High Commissioner in Ghana.The occasion was also used to brief the press on the outcome of the five-day meeting and efforts to fashion Ghana's credit union system based on the Canadians'.

The trip was undertaken with the support of the Canadian Co-operative Association and the Canadian International Development Agency.

Mr Mumuni also called on the Credit Union Association (CUA) and the Department of Co-operatives to introduce school savings clubs in schools in a bid to evolve a "catch them young credit union programme".Such a move, he said, will inculcate the spirit of thrift into the youth and make them savings and investment conscious.

The minister said most credit unions in the country currently are only rendering savings and loans services to members and called for the expansion of these services to include consumer services.

According to him, modern business is "not only capital-intensive but also knowledge-intensive", and therefore urged the CUA to train leaders and staff of the credit unions to strengthen their internal control systems.

The Canadian High Commissioner to Ghana, Mr John R. Schram, expressed the hope that the experience gained by the members of the delegation would go a long way to enhance the efficiency of the credit union system in the country.

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