GRi Business News 22-03-99

Financial Institutions ineffective in promoting micro-enterprises - Gamey

Water company underlines need for rational use of water

Accra (Greater Accra), 22 March 

Mr Austin Gamey, Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, on Monday said the government is concerned that financial institutions are ineffective in promoting micro-enterprises in the country.

He said "support from the banks are most often inadequate" and "there is lack of collaboration between banks and other credit intermediation institutions''.

Mr Gamey was speaking at the opening of a five-day international seminar on business opportunities in Accra, which is being attended by 30 young graduates from Ghana, Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire, Senegal and Liberia.

It was organised by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation in conjunction with the Africa Leadership Forum, and it is aimed at imparting entrepreneurial skills and facilitate exchange of ideas among young graduates from the Sub-Region.

Mr Gamey said the ineffective roles of the banks make it difficult for micro-enterprises to provide proposals and feasibility studies to banks and this hampers economic development.

He said the micro-enterprises have enormous potential and are beneficial to the economy in the areas of job creation, development of entrepreneurial and managerial talents, alleviation of the negative consequences of structural adjustment programmes and contribute significantly to the national economy in terms of goods and services.

Thegovernment has taken a number of measures to support micro enterprises and the private sector including the promotion of domestic resource-based and export-oriented industries, mineral extraction and processing, engineering and manufacturing.

He called for the intensification of Programmes to attract experienced people in public sector administrative positions to go into private businesses. Mrs Eva Maria-Kohler, Country Director of Friedrich Naumann Foundation, whose speech was read on her behalf, said over 400 people from the sub-region have benefited from the training seminars.

Accra (Greater Accra), 22nd March 

Mr Charles Adjei, Managing Director of the Ghana Water and Sewerage Corporation (GWSC), on Monday underlined the need for a sustained rational use of water if the resource is to be available in the next millennium.

He said those who use water as though it is unlimited "need to learn the true value of this precious commodity ... and contribute to fair pricing, not only as a means of an effective demand management tool, but to enable GWSC build some level of independent capacity to expand services ...".

Mr Adjei made these remarks at a flag-hoisting ceremony to mark the World Water Dayin Accra. The day is set aside to bring to the notice of consumers and all other stakeholders the need to keep water bodies and sources safe from contamination and urged the people to use the resource wisely.

Mr Adjei said urban service delivery will soon be accelerated by exploiting the advantages which private sector involvement will bring and that current estimates put investment needed to achieve set targets of the corporation at 1.5 billion cedis for the urban sector alone.

The GWSC boss said in 1992, the corporation undertook a water supply and sanitation survey which put urban coverage at 76 per cent." Presently, we estimate that effective urban coverage has dropped to about 71 per cent," a figure described by consumers as still on the low side especially in the face of the rising costs of tariffs.

The GWSC plans to put urban water supply at 100 per cent by 2010 and sustain it through 2020. The demand for increased water supply for domestic and other uses continues to rise geometrically as a result of increased population, improved living standards and increased economic activity.

Rural water service delivery coverage is currently at 50 per cent; the 1992 figure was 45 per cent.

Mr Adjei regretted that the nation continues to act as if fresh water were a perpetually abundant resource, and that "if we continue the trend of viewing potable as a cheap social commodity, ... we maybe forcing scarcity to teach us the truth".

Mr Isaac Adjei-Mensah, Minister of Works and Housing, said four complementary approaches have been recommended for adoption by policy makers which include setting priorities based on the desires of the beneficiaries and the adoption bottom-up planning to ensure that the voice of the people are heard and that investments match needs.

He also said government has started taking bold initiatives and formulated strategies to fully achieve these aims long before the regional consultation dubbed "Africa 2000".

" To ensure our objectives, a dynamic policy formulation and implementation process is being followed".