NPP to set aside 50% MASLOC funds for women

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has promised to set aside 50 percent of the Micro and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) funds for female applicants to expand their businesses when given the nod.

MASLOC set up by the NPP during the tenure of President John Agyekum Kufuor was aimed at supporting small and medium scale enterprises with soft loans to expand their businesses and operational cost.

In addition, the Party says it would re-introduce and enforce the administrative directive on the reservation of 30 per cent of poverty alleviation/credit funds of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assembly’s (MMDAs) to service women’s enterprise.

These were some of the promises in the Party’s manifesto launched a few weeks ago and covered under the Ghana News Agency’s Women’s Profile Project aimed at pushing forward issues on women during the electioneering of the December 7 elections.

The manifesto said if the NPP won the December 7 elections gender equality and women’s empowerment would be reintroduced just as the Kufuor administration demonstrated by establishing Women and Children’s Ministry, now Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection.

NPP said it planned to fill at least 30 percent of the available public office positions and provide alternate life skills training and seed capital to reduce the kayayei phenomenon as well as partnering the private sector and charities to provide temporary hostel facilities.

The manifesto said to alleviate the plight and hardships of Kayayei they would be exempted from market tolls and all other operational taxes, and the plan would be effectively carried out within the MMDAs.