Govt to support 10,000 women

AS many as 10,000 women are to be supported to set up their businesses in the country next year.

To this end, the Ministry for Women and Children’s Affairs has requested the 10 regional co-ordinating councils to select 1,000 women each who will be given financial and technical assistance to establish small-scale businesses.

The sector Minister, Mrs Gladys Asmah, who announced this in Accra, said preparatory work on the programme is underway and that the programme will take off as soon as the lists have been submitted.

She was speaking at a mammoth rally of the New Patriotic Party at James Town, Accra, to mark the first anniversary of the NPP government.

She said as a stopgap measure to reduce poverty in the country, the government has already assisted 10,600 women with financial help, which has gone a long way to improve their economic wellbeing.

The minister said the government’s programme for the development of the talents of women will become manifest from next year.

Mrs Asmah said the government is determined to empower women to develop their talents because “we believe that the economic empowerment of women means the empowerment of the Ghanaian family”.

She said the ministry will not discriminate in its assistance to women since all Ghanaians have the right to good standards of living.

“We want to assure Ghanaian women that the government will provide them with economic and social interventions which will help them to fight poverty,” the minister said.

President Kufuor, earlier this month, launched the Women’s Development Fund with a seed capital of ¢21 billion to assist women entrepreneurs to improve and expand their businesses.

The Deputy Minister of Works and Housing, Mrs Theresa Amerley Tagoe, said despite the weak financial position of the country at the time the government assumed power, it has cleared a backlog of debts owed contractors.

The deputy minister said the road network in certain parts of Accra is being tackled to bring relief to motorists and commuters.

Nii Boi Ayibontey, MP for Odododiodio, in whose constituency the rally was held, assured the people that the government will deliver on its promises made during the round-up to the last elections.

Nana Adi Ankamah, Eastern Regional Chairman of the NPP, said the government has been able to spray cocoa farms and also paid bonuses to cocoa farmers, all within a year in office. “This shows that we are committed to the welfare of the ordinary people,” he said.