Hajia Abibata Shanni Mahama Zakariah
The Deputy CEO of MASLOC and NPP Parliamentary Aspirant in Yendi, Hajia Abibata Shanni Mahama Zakariah, has dismissed “the dire propaganda by her political detractors and opponents, who blatantly misconstrued the recent disbursement exercise as a vote-buying scheme’.
Blaming her political opponents for being the main masterminds behind those unsavoury comments, which unfortunately went viral on social media, Hajia Abibata said the venomous attacks on her person were misplaced and their comments did not support the facts of the official disbursements.
She explained that even though an approved total loan amount in excess of GHC1,000,000.00 was disbursed on the 21st May, 2020 to eligible Applicants on the Yendi Senior High School park, the motive for this disbursement has been deliberately twisted as disbursements of this nature are standard practice at MASLOC.
Giving details of the disbursement she stated that the said amount was disbursed among 30 groups each made up of 25 members and other individual beneficiaries, bringing the total number of Applicants to 776. She added that the loans will help alleviate the challenges presented by the COVID-19 to the economic activities of beneficiaries. Additionally, it is worth noting that the timing of the disbursements is just right as the farming season has just begun.
She further stated that “notable among the beneficiaries were market women, who will be adequately empowered economically to support their families with profits from their enterprise after setting aside their interest and repayments”.
As the Deputy CEO of MASLOC in charge of the Northern sector of Ghana, “she had the responsibility to supervise the smooth disbursement of loan facilities within her catchment area, which undoubtedly includes Yendi, the land of her birth.
However, her detractors who knew the purpose of this official duty deliberately and with malice created the brouhaha which undoubtedly has caused massive disaffection for a woman who has dedicated her life to serve her people and be a role model to young women who intend venturing into public service.
By the way, it should be emphasized that political position or affiliation does not qualify one to get a disbursement from MASLOC”.
Meanwhile, this is not the first time MASLOC is disbursing group loans to applicants in their localities in a bid to avoid ghost names. Similar disbursements have been carried out in other parts of the region and other regions.
That said, there is always room for improvement and a myriad of suggestions have been noted from positive contributors on this issue. MASLOC as a listening and learning institution, we will consider these suggestions put forward, in a bid to improve our modus operandi.
It should be placed on record that MASLOC launched its digital platform last week and it is aimed at improving significantly the mode of disbursements.
Hajia Abibata described as very shameful attempts by people to play mischief or dirty politics with the efforts towards the economic empowerment of the people of Yendi.
"I am very proud to have been able to lobby for such a huge loan facility from MASLOC for my people. I didn't secure the loan for political reasons but to transform the lives of the people who are ready to work to feed their families but hitherto did not have the capital or needed a boost".
The Deputy MASLOC CEO said the voters in Yendi had enough trust and confidence in her abilities, and were already satisfied with her numerous supports and interventions.
She indicated that her footprints were very visible in every community in the Yendi Constituency as she has secured employment for close to 2000 youth and employable persons and she has supported several farmers, provided water, electricity, and also supported in the health and education sectors in the Constituency.
She stressed that “It is common knowledge that my opponents and detractors have always got it wrong each time they attack me because the good people of Yendi have noticed that my opponents do not fight to improve a lot of the people but they rather try to fight and block my interventions. Question really is, why don’t they bring their quota of development, however small it may be?
I want to assure them, she concluded, that I remain focused on delivering on my mandate as deputy MASLOC boss and my resolve to bring more development to the good people of Yendi is also unwavering.
