CULTIVATING the habit of saving and borrowing responsibly from financial institutions are some of the major challenges facing many rural dwellers in the Northern Region.
Most of the people, who are predominantly farmers, contend that their income levels are low due to the lack of market for their produce, hence their inability to make ends meet, let alone save with the banks. Others argue that even if they borrow, paying back is most often difficult because of their huge family responsibilities and natural disasters like floods and drought that negatively affect crop yield.
It is for these reasons that a non-governmental organisation (NGO) known as the Support Programme for Enterprise Empowerment and Development (SPEED) Ghana has taken it upon itself to sensitise rural people, through drama performances by the Abibigroma group, to the benefits of savings.
The educational campaign of SPEED, Ghana, dubbed: “The road show”, was instituted in December 2007 to encourage people to save towards a secure future.
The latest of such educational campaigns was held at Savelugu in the Savelugu-Nanton District of the Northern Region. It was organised by SPEED, Ghana, in collaboration with STRATCOM Africa, a consultancy firm.
Patronage of the campaign among residents of Savelugu was encouraging.
The staff of the Borimanga Rural Bank at Savelugu also brought their expertise to bear on the programme, as they explained their financial transactions to the people who, hitherto, did not understand the essence of borrowing money, putting it into good use and savings.
Indeed, the residents of Savelugu admitted that for the first time in their lives they had understood what it meant to save, since most of them had negative perceptions about banks.
According to the Micro Finance Advisor of SPEED, Ghana, Mr Ken Appenteng, the campaign was to, among other objectives, assist financial institutions, including banks, credit unions, savings and loan companies, to explain their transactions to the rural people and thereby encourage them to access credit facilities and to put them to good use.
“We also provide technical assistance for micro finance institutions such as rural banks to enable them to deliver their financial services more efficiently and with greater outreach to micro, small and medium enterprises,” he stated.
Mr Appenteng said the campaign consisted of three components — micro, consumer education and financial literacy.
“With the campaigns in place, it should now be possible for the financial institutions to engage customers in their transactions. The banks must know the needs of customers and provide answers to them,” he said.
According to him, it was imperative for rural dwellers to be educated on how best to secure their future through savings, adding, “Money is like food so you can decide to eat some or leave some for the next day. No matter how small your income is, you have to save part”.
The Assistant Micro Finance Advisor of SPEED Ghana, Madam Cynthia Odonkor, observed that some customers of banks were not aware of the difference between savings and current accounts.
“At the end of the day, we want to educate the people in the whole country that they can save, as it is the only way to solve emergency problems. They should also be aware that they have to pay back the loans they owe the banks and other financial institutions,” she stressed.
The Executive Director of the Northern Rural Development Association (NORDA), Chief Yusif Kunkundana, said the programme was beneficial to financial institutions, the economy and the beneficiary people.
The acting Manager of the Borimanga Rural Bank, Mr Abdallah Abdul Rashid, observed that the programme had afforded his outfit the opportunity to educate residents of Savelugu on its operations.
He assured the customers, especially residents of the area, that the bank would carry out outreach programmes to explain its operations to the people to boost the local economy.
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