PROBLEMS HINDER SMALL PRIVATE BUSINESSES IN VR

PUBLISHED MARCH 20

Story: TIM DZAMBOE

A number of problems plaguing the performance of small businesses in the private sector the Volta Region have been identified.
They are the non-involvement of small scale operators in decision making, lack of private sector desk in Municipal and District Assemblies, lack of easy access to credit facilities, red-tapeism and blockade to the release of funds.
Others are the preference of financing exporters than producers, difficulty in getting financial assistance and materials for investment and non-involvement of artisans in projects.
These came to light at a forum organised by the Association of Small Scale Industries (ASSI) and the Business Advisory Centre (BUSAC) in conjunction with the Ghana Journalists Association and KAB Consult in Ho last weekend.
The forum was aimed at improving advocacy for the development of small operators into viable and sustainable entities as job and wealth creators.
According to the participants, micro credit offered them was so low while the interest rates were so high that it favoured commerce than production.
They said there was the lack of knowledge and information on the Micro Finance and Small Loan Centre (MASLOC) and that it had been politicised too much at the grassroots level and expressed concern about the bureaucracies attached to the system.
According to them the programmes also lacked the required information and sensitisation for the people who needed them.
A communication consultant of KAB Consult, Mrs Mariam Kyei, said the main issue that hindered many enterprises from accessing loan facilities was a reliable contact address.
Mrs Kyei expressed concern about poor record keeping that did not educate creditors well, a situation that discouraged them from doing businesses.
For his part, the Regional Head of the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), Mr Ransford Kani, said it was pertinent for small businesses to look out for information themselves.