Accra, Oct. 10, GNA - The Ministry of Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development and President's Special Initiative says it has plans to turn all handicraft villages into tourist sites and showcase them on the web.

Mr Francis O. Kusi, Director of Investment and Financial Services at the Ministry, said on Wednesday that it would be easier for tourists to locate tourism sites if they had fair knowledge about the country's tourism potentials and where to locate them. He was speaking on the topic: "Micro Small and Medium Scale Project (MSMSP)" at the 517th Monthly Meeting of Accra Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ARCCI) in Accra.

Mr Kusi said the project sought to make SMEs more competitive and enable them to create more jobs. The project would also help SMEs to reduce business constraints, strengthen business associations by assisting them have access to finance, market and also to develop their products. Mr Kusi said under the MSMSP government would encourage banks to give loans to SMEs under the partial credit guarantee programme and government would share any risks associated equally with the banks. He urged them to take advantage of the programme to expand their businesses and create wealth. Mrs Dorothy Kingsley-Nyinah, an Administrator at the Commercial Court, advised members to opt for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism to solve business disputes and save cost and time. She said ADR in commercial courts was free of charge but if one opted for an independent mediator, the court would recommend one but that would not be free.

Mr Douglas A Boateng, President of ARCCI, urged companies and business owners to be part of the solution to the floods in the three northern regions.

He announced that the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industries had donated 50 million cedis to the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) to carter for the victims. Mr Boateng said the Chamber was collecting donations on behalf of the victims and urged members to get in touch with the secretariat for account numbers.