Koforidua, Aug. 13, GNA - Operators of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in the Eastern Region have appealed to the management of the Social Investment Fund (SIF), to streamline the fund's operations and make it simpler for them to access loans.

They argued that the operations of the SIF as it stood currently was tortuous and was rather a disincentive, thus defeating the poverty fighting objective of the organization.

Contributors at a forum organized by the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) to help promote dialogue between identifiable SMEs in the Eastern Region and the SIF were unanimous that the SIF must do more for its desired impact to be felt.

The SIF's own data point to a low patronage of the funds since only GH¢ 229,000 was disbursed to patrons in the Eastern Region as of June 2008, compared to GH¢ 930,400.00 for Central and GH¢ 903,550.00 for Ashanti Regions respectively.

Mr Ben Appiah, the regional chair of the Association of Small Scale Industries (ASSIP), said because of the complex rule governing the fund, members of his outfit had not been able to access it.

He said the SIF also failed to give them the requisite training and machinery, which was supposed to be part of the remit of the organization.

Mr Effah Musa, Vice Regional Chairman of the Ghana National Tailors and Dressmakers Association, entreated the executive of SIF to monitor the activities of the banks, which have been designated to disburse the loans.

He said in some instances, the banks approved loans only to disburse it in a piecemeal manner making it difficult to do the required investments.

A representative of the National Association of Beauticians and Dressmakers, Miss Marie Avorkliyah, asked the SIF to develop guidelines, which could serve as a benchmark for people applying for the loans.

Mr Joe Acheampong, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist of the Fund, admitted there had been some challenges, citing in particular the discrepancies in interest rates and commissions charged by micro-finance institutions disbursing the fund.

He accepted the challenge that the organization should review its procedures to make it more open to clients so as to facilitate access. Mr Louis Asomaning-Brimpong, Small Scale Enterprises Specialist at the SIF, encouraged SMEs to avail themselves of management and entrepreneurial development programmes that the Fund would soon be rolling-out to ensure efficient operations and to make them more appealing to financial institutions.

Mrs Marian Kyei, a Legal Practitioner and Journalist, who chaired the event, called for further dialogue to enable the two entities to iron out their difference to ensure the solvency of the SIF to meet the needs of the people it was created for.

Mr Bright Blewu, General-Secretary of the GJA, said too much power had been given to the participating banks to the detriment of the entrepreneurs and called for an appraisal of the situation. Mr Afriyie Badu, Chief Executive Officer of KAB Governance Consult, corroborated Mr Blewu's views and expressed the need for a review of the SIF operations to make it more relevant to the business community.