Ministry disburses funds to women groups

Page 11, March 1, 2008
Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
The Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs (MOWAC) disbursed GH¢10,077,300 to 104,090 women groups throughout the country between 2004 and 2007 to support their businesses in the informal sector.
The amount was disbursed under the ministry’s micro credit facility which formed part of its planned economic empowerment programmes to improve the living conditions of women, particularly the poor and vulnerable
The Deputy Minister for the ministry, Mr Daniel Dugan, told Parliament on Thursday that the former National Micro Finance Centre (NAMFIC), which co-ordinated the programme, drew a repayment schedule of between 12 and 36 months depending on the businesses of the various beneficiaries.
He was responding to a question posed by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale South, Mr Iddrisu Haruna, who wanted to know how much the ministry disbursed as credit to women’s groups between 2004 and 2007 and how much had been recovered.
The deputy minister stated that so far a total of GH¢1,536,204 had been recovered, explaining that in September, 2007 the Micro Finance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), which took over the co-ordination of the programme from NAMFIC, instructed that all monies recovered should be paid into a central account before any on-lending was made.
He said that the operational guidelines authorised the banks to revolve the funds, by recovering and recycling, adding that many of the groups were receiving credit from the banks under the third phase of the programme.
Answering another question by the MP for South Dayi, Dr Kwame Ampofo, the deputy minister stated that 100 community child protection teams had been established in the regions to organise sensitisation programmes in their communities and sensitise parents to child rights issues.
He stated that the promotion of girl-child education at all levels had ensured the enrolment and retention of girls in school, enabling the country to achieve a gender parity index of 0.97 enrolment at the basic school level.
Mr Ampofo wanted to find out what the ministry was doing to put a stop to forced marriages of girls, especially those underage and in school with particular reference to a story which was reported at the front page of the November 4-10, 2006 issue of the Weekly Spectator, an Accra weekly.
In the said story, the paper reported that a 16-year-old junior secondary school pupil who was forced by her aunt to marry a 60-year-old farmer, Anafo Akelbona, faced persistent harassment from her would-be husband when she refused to yield to her sexual demands.
He explained that the ministry collaborated with the law enforcement agencies to take measures to ensure enforcement of laws relating to forced or early marriages and other offences against children.
Mr Dugan, however, indicated that the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service was confronted with situations where families of abused girls preferred to settle such cases out of court.
On the incident reported by the Weekly Spectator, the deputy minister stated that no arrest had been made so far, since the family of the victim preferred that the matter be settled amicably.