FINANCIAL LITERACY WEEK ENDS IN VOLTA REGION (OCT 8, PAGE 27)

Various speakers at a seminar to mark this year’s financial literacy week in the Volta Region have urged operators in the informal sector to explore the opportunities available in the prevailing financial market to prop up their businesses in order to facilitate national economic growth.
They said there were many opportunities in the rural banking sector, credit unions, insurance, e-zwich, securities, banking and other financial services through which they could make appropriate investments for capital gains and secure their businesses.
The speakers made the call at a series of lectures organised for a large number of small-scale sector businessmen and women on the theme, “Financial Literacy…Knowledge in Money” in Ho.
In his paper, Mr K. S. Osei-Bonsu from the Bank of Ghana said investment in the e-zwich system offered security against the risk of armed robbery and that transactions were not limited to any particular bank, which made accessibility easier and convenient.
He said although transactions in cash were good the e-zwich system was better because it underscored a cashless system of modern economies.
Talking on insurance, Mr Daniel Donto of the State Insurance Company(SIC) said fire insurance was now compulsory under Act 724 section 184 for all commercial properties.
He stressed the need to train workers properly on the use of fire extinguishers at their workplaces.
He said if equipment was not switched off after use, it generated heat internally and could result in explosion and consequently fire.
A lecturer at the Ho Polytechnic, Mr Seth Dzokoto, who spoke on credit unions, said the unions were conduits for the poor to save and to reap maximum benefits and that the principle of credit unions was that “little drops of water made a mighty ocean”.
Speaking on rural banking, Mr Temple Tsifodze of the Akatsi Rural Bank said shareholding in a rural bank was an avenue for a member to become a joint owner of a company, had the right to vote, and become a director.
He said investment in shares was profitable but should be done at a strategic time devoid of avoidable financial burden on their businesses.
Other speakers were from the Gold Coast Securities, Bank of Ghana and private financial institutions.