HRDs urged to tap into cash pooling capacity of credit unions

Ho, Nov 6,GNA-Human Resource Departments have been advised to tap into the Credit Unions' capacity to garner cash for on lending to members, as bedrocks of their welfare policies. Mr Washington Agboka, Board Chairman of the Ghana Water Company (GWC) Credit Union, was speaking at a ceremony in Ho on Friday to mark International Credit Union Day.

He told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that it was more prudent for these departments to support their staff form Credit Unions than seeing them restlessly chasing loans with very high interest from Micro-Finance companies.

Mr Agboka said credit unions had come in handy when managements got strapped in running workers' welfare issues, thereby contributing to maintain high corporate morale, which otherwise would have been bruised.

He charged managements of Credit Unions to organize outreaches to workplaces to propagate the credit union concept to workers. Mr Gilbert Bene-Pewudie, Volta Regional Manager of the Ghana Cooperative Credit Unions Association (CUA) Limited, said there were 21 credit unions in the region with total assets of Ghc 6,827,308.76 and membership of 11,743.

He put total savings at Ghc 5, 880, 147.00 and loans, Ghc 3,506,898.34.

Mr Bene-Pewudie said the unions employ 52 permanent staff including managers.

He said categories of the unions were workplace credit unions, for the security services, teachers, and staff of utility services as well as community-based unions. Mr Bene-Pewudie said credit unions pool resources for use by members and not commercial entities such as banks but claimed that the unions had lifeline financial products that no one could ignore. 05 Nov 10