Wa, July 12, GNA - Gratis "Foundation is to establish Batik Villages in some Regional Technology Transfer Centres (RTTCS) for textile trainees to produce for export under the Africa Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA).

RTTCs earmarked for the programme include Accra-Tema, Cape Coast, Takoradi, Kumasi, Sunyani, Tamale and Wa.

Mr. Kwabena Dankyi Darfoor, Executive Director of the Foundation, said this on Friday in a speech read on his behalf by Mr. Peter Adasi, Regional Manager of the RTTC, at the passing out of 45 trainees who had acquired skills at the Centre at Wa.

They included the first batch of 25 unemployed people who took advantage of the skills training and employment placement (STEP) programme initiated and sponsored by the government. The trainees who received three months training in batik, tie and dye and broad loom weaving were presented with certificates.

Mr. Dankyi Darfoor said RTTCs under their regular six-month programme trained 1,387 people in batik tie and dye textiles and broadloom weaving nationwide.

He said 85 per cent of them were women with about ten per cent benefiting from the GRATIS Working Capital Loan Scheme and appealed to the government, district assemblies and NGOs to support small-scale industrial sector by sponsoring the youth and unemployment to undertake GRATIS/RTTC training.

Mr. Sahanum Mogtari, Upper West Regional Minister, advised the trainees to form co-operative societies to enable them benefit from poverty alleviation packages from district assemblies and NGOs. He said the success of the STEP programme would help reduce rural-urban migration among the youth, which the Regional Minister noted was "more pronounced" in the region.

Mr. Mogtari inspected tools and equipment, including sheanut crushers and kneaders, groundnut paste kneaders, corn mills and textiles produced at the Centre.

He observed that some of the tools and equipment could compete favorable with imported brands and advised Ghanaians to patronise locally made products to reduce the nations huge import bill.