Accra, Dec. 14, GNA - Small and Medium Scale enterprises (SMEs) could= be used as a tool to transform the standard of living of the masses, if the district assemblies capture their activities in the governance process. Mr Kwesi Afriyie Badu, Chief Executive Officer of KAB Governance Consult, who made the observation on Monday, urged the Local Government Services to give prominence to SMEs in development programmes to facilita= te the reduction of poverty.

KAB Consult is an organisation partnering the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) in an advocacy project for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises. Mr Afriyie Badu was speaking at a meeting between the GJA, KAB Cons= ult and the Parliamentary Select Committee on Local Government and Rural development in Accra.

The meeting focussed on some concerns of Micro and Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in their dealings with the assemblies. The programme is part of an advocacy campaign launched by the GJA in=

collaboration with the KAB Consult with the support of the Business Secto= r Advocacy Challenge Fund to use the media to get the attention of policy makers in the development of SMEs. Mr Afriyie suggested the involvement of businesses in the fixing of f= ees at the district assembly level to encourage the payment of expected taxes= .. "Some assemblies usually fix fees or taxes to be paid by businesses i= n the district without engaging the business to know their problems," he sa= id. He also expressed concern about deductions from the District Assembl= ies Common Fund and noted that only 27 per cent of the fund gets to the assemblies to be used for developmental projects. Mr Afriyie said the amount was too small to be used for significant development projects.

Mr Dominic Azumah, Chairman of the committee announced that governme= nt was planning to institute a National Decentralisation Day, which would be=

used to recognize hard working civil servants in the District Assemblies and also educate the people about the decentralisation process. Commenting on the deduction of monies from the common fund, he said it had been the common complain of the district assemblies. He said the committee would ensure that district assemblies were independent in the management of the common fund.