Sekondi, Aug. 25, GNA - Mrs Olivia Opoku Adomah, Western Regional Economic Planning Officer on Wednesday said no applicant in the region had benefited from the micro credit facility being disbursed under the Community Based Rural Development Projects (CBRDP).

She said so far 155 applicants in the food-processing sector had applied for loans but none had been granted, although 10 out of 13 rural banks in the region had been mandated to disburse the loans. Mrs Adomah announced this at a day's meeting of the Western Regional Coordinating Council (WRCC) at Sekondi. The CBRDP is one of the mechanisms for the implementation of the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) II.

It is being funded by the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank that has provided 60 million dollars, and 12 million dollars support from the Agence' Francaise Development. She explained that CBRDP was aimed at reducing poverty and improve the living standards of the people therefore any delay in releasing the funds would affect objectives of GPRS II, being implemented by the government.

Mrs Adomah called on rural banks in the region to speed up the processing of applications to enable beneficiaries secure the funds. She said under CBRDP, about 85.7 kilometres of feeder roads would be constructed in all the 13 districts in the region. In addition, 32 basic schools would be upgraded, construction of three slaughterhouses, provision of post harvest infrastructure, seven-community health compounds, and construction of 18 boreholes for selected communities in the region from September 4 this year. Three of the boreholes would be constructed in Bia District; seven in Juabeso District, six in Amenfi East District and two in Shama Ahanta East Metropolitan area.

Mr. Anthony Evans Amoah, Western Regional Minister stressed the need for Metropolitan and District assemblies as well as all relevant agencies to be conversant with provisions of the GPRS II document (2006 to 2009).

He said government had allocated about 457.3 billion cedis for disbursement as credit to people under the CBDRP. Mr. Amoah urged stakeholders to liase with their components to ensure the funds were released to improve activities of people in the food-processing sector.