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Presidential Business Support 3rd Window:GH₵50m soft loan for 5,000 start-ups
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Five thousand business startups are to benefit from a soft loan facility totaling GH₵50million under the third window of the Presidential Business Support Programme (PBSP) which opens across the country today.
The beneficiaries would be selected from 26,000 entrepreneurs from all districts whose capacity would be built in marketing and business management as part of the programme.
Launched by President Nana Addo in 2017, the PBSP is aimed at assisting Ghanaian businesses with capacity building, money and funding for young entrepreneurs and start-ups.
At the launch of the new window in Accra yesterday, Minister of Business Development, Dr Ibrahim Mohammed Awal said 19,000 startups supported under the previous windows had created 90,000 jobs.
This, he said, was a testament of the need to support the youth to be job creators instead of job seekers since only two per cent of the nearly 250,000 young people who graduate get jobs in the formal sector.
“The rest must find jobs in the private sector hence the president’s commitment to entrepreneurship to train them, equip them, fund them and build capacity so that they can create jobs and employ more people,” he said.
According to Dr Awal, the country was largely a youthful population with three per cent of the young people below 30 years and that the government was determined to use the programme as a resource to enhance national development and create wealth for the people.
On his part, John Kumah, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP), the agency coordinating the programme, said this year’s edition had been extended from 19,000 beneficiaries to 26,000 and GH₵40million to GH₵50 million to support more people.
He said 100 beneficiaries would be selected from each of 260 districts across the country and given loans ranging between GH₵5,000 and GH₵50, 000 with 10 per cent interest.
The interest, he said, was to sustain the pool of fund and support other people as well as incorporate the culture of loan repayments to enable them approach banks for loans in the future.
This year, he said, application had been decentralised and not done exclusively online, in response to concerns raised by prospective beneficiaries in the rural areas that internet access was an impediment.
He assured all prospective applicants of a fair and selection process as private consultants would be in charge of the selection after which the Monitoring and Evaluation department of the ministry would follow up.
“It is a very fair and transparent process. I urge all to apply through their district assemblies, every Ghanaian with a business idea is qualified,” he said.
On the recovery of loans, Mr Kumah, said it was about 70 per cent but the COVID-19 had slowed down recovery rate.
BY JONATHAN DONKOR
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) says it has successfully conducted constituency executive elections in 245 out of its 276 constituencies across the country.
The party’s General Secretary, Justin Kodua Frimpong, said the exercise recorded an 88.7 per cent success rate and was conducted peacefully in the constituencies where voting took place.
In an update posted on his Facebook page, he said elections in 23 constituencies were put on hold because of various disputes.
He added that four constituencies Ningo Prampram, Atwima Mponua, Obuasi West and Trobu could not hold their elections due to last minute challenges.
According to him, the party’s National Steering Committee will also review election activities in Afigya Sekyere East, Adansi Asokwa, Bantama and Asante Akyem Central.
Mr Frimpong said the National Secretariat is committed to resolving all outstanding issues to ensure the successful completion of the constituency executive elections.
He expressed appreciation to members of the party for their support and discipline throughout the exercise.
“We extend our sincere appreciation to all Patriots for their commitment, discipline, and support, which contributed to the successful conduct of these elections,” he stated.
By: Jacob Aggrey
The Northern Regional Police Command has arrested two Nigerian nationals in connection with the murder of a 36-year-old Nigerian man at Sanzirigu in Tamale.
The suspects, identified as Daniel Victor Eze and David Oko Ewa, were arrested on Saturday, July 11, shortly after the body of Nkemujika Uzorchuku Eze was found in his bedroom.
According to the Police, preliminary investigations showed that the deceased lived in a three-bedroom apartment with his wife, Peace Uzorchuku, the two suspects and another Nigerian national, Godwin Nwafor.
The Police said officers began investigations after receiving a report that the deceased had been found lying in a pool of blood in his room.
A team that visited the scene found that he had suffered a deep cut to the forehead and had a towel stuffed into his mouth. The room had also been ransacked.
The Police said a wooden pestle believed to have been used in the attack, together with other items, was recovered from the scene for forensic examination.
The body was taken to the Tamale Teaching Hospital, where a medical officer confirmed him dead before it was deposited at the hospital mortuary for preservation and an autopsy.
According to the Police, intelligence-led operations led to the arrest of the two suspects at Tatale on the same day while they were allegedly attempting to escape into the Republic of Togo.
They were later handed over to the Tamale District Criminal Investigations Department to assist with investigations.
The Police said the suspects allegedly admitted during interrogation that they had conspired to kill the deceased because he had been withholding money they claimed was obtained through internet fraud.
A search conducted after their arrest led to the recovery of several items suspected to have been stolen from the deceased’s room, including mobile phones, laptop computers, a tablet, jewellery, clothing, wristwatches, personal documents and other valuables. The Police said the items have been kept as exhibits to support the investigations.
The suspects remain in Police custody and are expected to appear before court on Monday, July 13, to facilitate the ongoing investigations.
The Northern Regional Police Command said it remains committed to bringing everyone involved in the crime to justice and urged the public to provide credible information to help fight crime.
By: Jacob Aggrey
