Women appeals to be given opportunity to renegotiate loans

Small scale traders at Kwamoso who defaulted in the payment of women micro-credit loans from the Akuapem Rural Bank on Wednesday appealed to the bank to give them the opportunity to renegotiate the repayment schedule.

They pleaded with the bank officials to stop threatening them with police arrest because it is frightening and make them abandon their homes, husbands and children when they hear that the bank officials are visiting the community.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency, Mrs Mary Yirenkyi, one of the defaulters, said she borrowed GH C300 from the Women Micro-credit Loans scheme of the bank and was expected to pay back a total of GHc400 within 16 weeks.

She said the repayment was done weekly and so she used her loan to purchase kerosene and firewood in large volumes, which she sold and was paying back the loans weekly.

However, at the end of the sales, she realized that she had lost part of the capital.

Mrs Yirenkyi said she was expected to finish paying back her loan with the interest in January this year but was able to pay only GHC 330.

A senior official of the bank who agreed to talk on condition of anonymity said the field officers of the bank who were in charge of the facility had not reported to the bank that they were having difficulties in the repayment of the facility.

He said the bank was therefore not aware that defaulters were being harassed with the police.

The official declined to have any discussion on the interest rate of the facility under the Women Micro-Credit Scheme of the bank because bank rules do not allow officials of the bank to discuss that with journalists under any circumstances.

GNA