UK releases fund for poverty alleviation by 2015

Miss Barbara K Gansah, a staff of Delliote and Touche, on Tuesday said the Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom (UK) has allocated one million pounds for the Ghana Business Leakage Challenge Fund (GBLSF) and is meant to reduce poverty by 2015.

She said DFID also hopes to improve efforts at basic health care and universal access to primary education by the same year.

Miss Gansah said these in an interview with the GNA in Takoradi.

She said the UK government White Paper on International Development published in December 2000 reaffirmed this commitment and focuses specifically on how to manage globalisation to benefit the poor.

Miss Gansah said the DFID and GBLSF grant covered fees for transfer, use of related skills, cost of travel and accommodation, licensing, royalties, training course fees, and relevant legal and certification.

She said the grant was mainly for new businesses but existing ones could be considered, based on their accounting, editing and regular running course since the fund does not cater for such expenses.