Urban Poverty Reduction Project launched

Apam (C/R), June 15, GNA - The Central and Western Zonal Officer of the Social Investment Fund (SIF), Mrs Elizabeth Abena Nkrumah has urged Ghanaians, especially women to strive to get out of their poverty state since it is not a title for anyone to be proud of.

Mrs Nkrumah noted that there were some people who could get out of that state through a little effort but were looking up to the government to take them out.

She made the call at the launch of Urban Poverty Reduction Project at Apam, the Gomoa District Capital.

Apam is one of the 12 metropolitan, municipal and towns selected nation-wide to benefit from the project which would help them improve the livelihood of the people. The project is under the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment has the Social Investment Fund as implementing agent. A total of 41.67 million dollars will be spent on the project in the beneficiary towns and citizens with the African Development Bank providing 37.5 million dollars while the Ghana government provides 4.17 dollars. The duration of the project is five years; spreading from 2006 to 2011.

Under one of its component, Social Capital and Investment Support, a programme known as the Social Inclusion Transfers (SIT) in the form of grant will be made to about 12,000 in about 4,000 households, especially single mothers with five or more children and those who live below the poverty line to support them. They will also be given training to make them self-supporting.

Mrs. Nkrumah called on women to stop "unplanned purchasing" and men to reduce drinking and smoking habits and invest what they spent on those things in some profitable ventures. She said the project was demand driven so no town or city should expect that they money voted for the project would be shared and theirs given to them.

"Towns or cities which are up and doing will receive more than those that will be dragging their feet," she stated. In a speech read on her behalf, Ms. Joyce Aidoo, District Chief Executive commended government for selecting Apam as a beneficiary of the project.

The DCE said Apam had a population of about 10,000 and the growth rate was about four per cent, a situation which had created high demand for accommodation and social facilities.

She said depletion of marine resources had made fishing, which was the main occupation of the people, less profitable these days. Ms. Aidoo said the project had come at an opportune time to save the people from abject poverty. Mr. Sam Quarm, Member of Parliament for Gomoa East advised the people to take advantage of the project to improve their standards of living.

Nana Effrim X, Chief of Apam reminded the people that the project was not "a Father Christmas" for them to take loans as a gift. They should repay loans promptly for others to benefit from it.