Business News of Tuesday, 20 January 2015
Source: Graphic Online
The Chief Executive Officer of Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Mrs Sedina Tamakloe Attionu, has disbursed a total of GH¢73,800.00 as loans to traders at Kpando in the Volta Region to expand their business.
Group members were given amounts ranging from GH¢100 to GH¢500 but other individuals had GH¢1,000 to GH¢10,000 depending on their business.
Beneficiaries of the loans will pay a two per-cent interest and the loan will be paid back in six months through a MASLOC account that has been opened at the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) branch at Kpando.
The executives of the various groups guaranteed the loans for their members, while the individuals presented their own guarantors – one or two guarantors depending on the amount involved.
Furthermore, as part of measures to ensure that beneficiaries used the loans for the purposes they were intended for, MASLOC has set up a monitoring and evaluation team to check on the activities of the traders.
Addressing the beneficiaries, Mrs Attionu said her outfit had disbursed huge sums of money to support a lot of Ghanaians across the country.
According to her, 756 people in Kpando alone had so far benefitted from GH¢378,000.00 with a recovery rate of 86 per cent, and pledged her outfit’s commitment to disburse more funds if beneficiaries paid back on time.
Mrs Attionu emphasised that “MASLOC loans are neither for free nor are they gifts,” and entreated the beneficiaries to ensure that they paid back on time for others to also benefit from the loan scheme.
She advised the beneficiaries to use the money for the intended purpose.
The Municipal Chief Executive of Kpando, Ms Paulina Adinyira, thanked the government and the management of MASLOC for supporting the businesses of traders and said she would lend her support to recover the loans.
The acting Volta Regional Manager of MASLOC, Mr John Ali, said the organisation would follow up to ensure that the monies were used for the purposes for which they were given out.
Some of the beneficiaries openly expressed their joy of getting the MASLOC loan, saying it would go a long way to enhance their businesses.
They gave an assurance that they would pay back the monies on time for others to also benefit from the scheme.