Catholic Cooperative celebrates anniversary

Sunyani (B/A), Sept.13, GNA - The Brong Ahafo Catholic Cooperative for Social Development (BACCSOD), a micro finance organization within the Sunyani and Techiman Dioceses of the Catholic Church, on Sunday climaxed its annual week-long celebration with a thanksgiving service at the Christ the King Cathedral in Sunyani. Earlier in the morning, the executives and members of the organization clad in the group's costume paraded the principal streets of Sunyani amidst brass band music and dancing, before converging at the Cathedral for the commencement of the church service. The programme under the theme "save today for better tomorrow" was aimed at increasing the membership to broaden the base of the organization in the church and beyond.

Other activities included educational talks on best micro business practices on some local FM stations in the Sunyani and Techiman Municipalities and their environs.

Monsignor Richard Kyeremeh, Administrator of the Christ the King Cathedral and Board Chairman of the Organization, said BACCSOD was formed in 1974 by the late most Reverend James Kwadwo Owusu, then Bishop of the Sunyani Diocese, basically for poverty alleviation. This, he added, was in conformity with the Catholic Church's vision of ensuring total and holistic development of the people. Monsignor Kyeremeh therefore urged them to use the celebration to rethink and reorganize the operations and management the cooperative to put it on a sound footing for better service delivery. Mr. Yaw Benneh, General Manager of Wamfie Rural Bank and Board Member of the organization asked the management to be more accountable, fair and transparent and avoid discriminatory tendencies in dealing with members. Mr. Jerome Adopley, Brong Ahafo Regional Director of Cooperatives, described BACCSOD as a credible micro-finance cooperative entity with multi-purpose function. 14 Sept 09