Market Women mob First Lady at maiden conference

By D.I. Laary/Elsie Appiah- Osei, GNA
Accra, Oct. 26, GNA - The First Lady, Mrs Lordina Mahama, was on Tuesday mobbed by a large crowd of women who gathered at the forecourt of the State House for the first ever National Market Women's Conference.

The women - old and young - swarmed and surged to shake hands with or catch glimpse of the First Lady, who arrived at the conference, accompanied by the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur, amidst tight security.

Music verberated the canopies, providing shade to the participants, who included Muslim clerics, pastors and representatives of several other religious groups.

The maiden conference was designed to engage the women and identify their challenges and concerns for integration in the plans of appropriate government agencies for sustainable national development.

The two-day forum, which also sought to educate the women on several topics, was on the theme: 'Empowering Market Women for Economic Prosperity.'

Various speakers took turns to recount development projects undertaken by President John Dramani Mahama's Government to improve the economic status of women countrywide.

'Today's high level-conference is mainly examining the progress we have made as a country and to address how to use technology to access markets,' Mrs Mahama said.

Such technology, she said, covered mobile phones, effective trading, financial literacy, business development training, setting up of micro-credit schemes and taxation.

It would also address the concerns of health, sanitation, and sexual harassment at market places.

Mrs Mahama said the Government considered women's empowerment as a top priority in the development agenda and viewed it as fundamental in addressing problems of poverty and gender-based violence.

Nana Oye Lithur assured the women of the Government's continued support and commitment to equip them with vital skills and information that could help them fight poverty and improve THE quality of lives of their families and communities.

She said women in the country contributed greatly to the informal economy, which was widely seen as the growth engine for internally driven economic transformation.

'Statistically, women constitute 90.9 per cent of this informal sector and a large number of these women are in our markets,' she said.

'Majority of these women are engaged in commercial activities which range from cross-border- trading to petty trading in daily market or periodic markets.'

The event forms part of series of conferences, being held nationwide, and aimed at boosting economic prosperity of market women.

About 200 market women in the Ashanti, Brong Ahafo and Greater Accra regions have undergone practical training in financial management, leadership and use of technology to enhance work and improve basic healthcare.

Madam Mercy Djan, the President of the Greater Accra Market Women's Association, lauded the Ministry for initiating such unique platforms that enabled women to share ideas and engage government officials to spur national development agenda. GNA