Sunyani (B/A) March 3, GNA- The Ashanti Regional branch of Civil Servants Association (CSA) of Ghana has established a loan scheme to offer financial support to members.

Mr. Kwame Asamoah Dwomoh, Chairman of the branch, told the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday at the opening of the a three-day 2003 national executive council meeting at Sunyani.

He said the scheme aims at enticing young graduates of tertiary institutions to join the civil service.

Mr. Dwomoh said the scheme was started last year with a compulsory monthly contribution of 20,000 cedis per member and a maximum voluntary contribution of 200,000 cedis a month per member.

The Regional Chairman said the scheme yielded 170 million cedis monthly and as at the end of last year, 600 million cedis was given out as loans to members to purchase durable goods including televisions sets.

Mr. Dwomoh said the regional executive would monitor or supervise the accounts of the districts to ensure sanity in their operations. The regional chairman said the Association had planned to institute a housing scheme under which members would be assisted to acquire and given loan to develop it.

He said the Association, under the loan scheme, has plans to establish its own banking institution in future.

Dr. Alex Glover-Quartey, Head of the Civil Service, who was the guest speaker at the opening of the meeting commended the regional branch for its foresight and initiative and appealed to the other regional branches to follow it.