Ve-Golokwati, Sept. 1, GNA- The Ministry of Employment and Manpower Development has provided a loan package totalling 37.5 million cedis to 15 trainees who passed out from the Ve-Golokwati Integrated Community Centre for Employable Skills (ICCES) under the Skills Training and Employment Placement (STEP) Programme.

Each beneficiary, including four women, trained in Batik, tie and dye making for three months, received 2.5 million cedis. Mr Seth V. Apraku-Mensah, Director of ICCES, said this at the trainees' passing out ceremony at Ve-Golokwati at the weekend. He called on vocational trainees in the country to organise themselves into cooperative groups to enable them to have access to credit facilities and tools and equipment from the HIPC Funds.

Mr. Apraku-Mensah assured them that the government would assist them to find markets for some of their products under the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA).

He, however, appealed to NGOs, churches, banks, and other financial institutions and individuals to provide financial and material support to the youth to make then productive and contribute to national development.

Mr James Komla Dogbe, Hohoe District Chief Executive, attributed the high unemployment rate in the country to broken homes and irresponsible parenting.

He appealed to parents to live up to expectation and embrace the government's call for effective family planning to enable them to take proper care of their children.

"Irresponsible parents grow irresponsible children who become armed robbers, murderers, rapists and teenage mothers".

Mr Clifford Tamakloe, Manager of the Ve-Golokwati ICCES, expressed gratitude to the Hohoe District Assembly for assisting the Centre with 3 million cedis to buy building materials for their new classroom block. He appealed to the assembly, NGOs and citizens to assist the school to complete work on its permanent structures. 01 Sept. 03