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15.01.2012 Business & Finance

Susu collectors fail to meet BoG directive

15.01.2012 LISTEN
By Jessica Acheampong - Daily Graphic

The Ghana Co-operative Susu Collectors Association (GCSCA) has registered 200 members as of January 1, 2012, the deadline for the Bank of Ghana directive mandating all susu collectors to register with the association.

The association estimates that there are at least 4,000 susu collectors operating across the country and it will embark on a nationwide sensitisation exercise to achieve a minimum of 50 per cent registration.

As per the Bank of Ghana directive, only those that register with the association would be given licences and recognised.

The General Secretary of the association, Mr Obed Asamany, told the Daily Graphic that there were still more collectors that needed to be registered.

According to him, looking at the number of susu collectors nationwide, those registered represented a small percentage and called on susu collectors to respond to the Bank of Ghana directive to regularise their operations in order to avoid severe sanctions from the regulator of the banking industry.

He, however, attributed the low turn-out to poor publicity about the directive and urged clients of the collectors who were aware of it to educate their collectors.

“It is very worrying to meet these collectors and they barely know about this directive. It is, therefore, a collective effort by the association, the central bank and the general public to sensitise these collectors for them to enjoy the benefits that come with the registration.”

Registered members will be taken through periodic capacity building programmes and training in various accounting programmes such as book and record keeping to help them enhance their knowledge base on the job.

Mr Asamany also added that “an Insurance Fund will also be set up to safeguard deposits of clients of all registered members in order to avert risks associated with the job and members will be required to make monthly premium contributions into the fund.

Projecting into 2012, he said, the association would provide its members with accurate data on the industry, step up capacity building of its members, set up a formal record system for members and also provide basic services that would add value to the operations of its members.

One such service is to develop a uniform accounting pass book for members to enhance the credibility of their operations.

Officials of the association disclosed that they were in the process of forwarding the registered names to the BoG Banking Supervision Department to enable it to issue them with the Bank of Ghana/GCSCA license to operate.

The GCSCA has also received partnership from the German Development Corporation (GIZ) to develop software to help the association to have a web reporting system which will be accessed by members on a monthly basis to provide information on their operations.

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