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About 3,500 people in Upper East Region to benefit from
MASLOC – Prempeh
Bolgatanga, May 31, Ghanadot/GNA –
About 3,500 people in Upper East Region are to benefit from
a 610,000 Ghana Cedi financial assistance under the Micro
Finance Small Loans Centre (MASLOC).
Mr Lawrence T. Prempeh, Chief Executive Officer of MASLOC
announced this at the launch of MASLOC in the Region on the
theme, ‘A New Approach to Economic Employment Through Micro
Finance’ in Bolgatanga.
He explained that the scheme was instituted by Government to
help hard working people who needed financial assistance to
start or expand their businesses.
“It is available for all and sundry without discrimination.
Any income generating venture of the beneficiary is
acceptable and traders, dealers in handicraft and artisans
are all eligible for the loans,“ Mr Prempeh said.
Mr Prempeh advised beneficiaries to utilise their loans well
and repay them promptly for others to benefit.
Mr Alhassan Samari, Upper East Regional Minister, noted that
MASLOC designed to be an effective and sustainable strategy
for reducing poverty was the best for the Region as majority
of its population were poor.
“However, it takes purposefulness and discipline to get out
of poverty, there is therefore no alternative to using such
loans as judiciously as possible to enable beneficiaries pay
back their loans,” he said.
Mr Samari urged staff in-charge of MASLOC in the Region to
be committed to serve the people and ensure the success of
the scheme.
“It is my expectation that those in charge of the scheme in
the Region would work with humility and commitment to
improve living standards of the people,” he said.
Mr Roger Minyila, Upper East Regional Coordinator of MASLOC,
explained that individual beneficiaries were granted between
1,000 and 2,500 Ghana cedis while groups could have between
2,500 Ghana cedis to 20,000 Ghana cedis.
He said while groups were supposed to pay 10 per cent
interest rate and a month grace period, individual
beneficiaries were expected to pay according to the current
Bank of Ghana prime rate plus 2.5 per cent.
Mr Minyila said only those who venture into agriculture were
given a year’s grace period.
GNA
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