Government has disbursed 335 million cedis out of the HIPC fund within the first quarter of the year to 240 women in the Awutu-Efutu-Senya District in the Central region.

The disbursement formed part of government's efforts to empower women in the development of their businesses and to alleviate poverty in rural communities, Mrs Veronica Otoo, President of Awutu-Bawjiase Traders Development Initiative (BTDI), told GNA in an interview in Accra.

She said women from Awutu-Beraku area received 50 million cedis; Awutu-Bawjiase Traders Development Initiative had 120 million cedis while those engaged in the President's Special Initiative (PSI) in Cassava Starch got 165 million.

Mrs Otoo said government was committed to empowering women and other vulnerable groups to reduce their dependency syndrome in fulfilment of the New Patriotic Party's electoral promise.

She said the benefits derived from the HIPC fund were an attestation of government's foresight and bold decision in declaring the nation HIPC against political and civil society protestation.

She said the District Assembly facilitated the disbursement and called on all women within the District to form women groups to also benefit from future packages.

She advised the beneficiary communities and societies to emulate others, who benefited earlier and had started repayment, saying the amount was not for any political party but a service and revolving fund, which must be repaid within six months.