NPP lauds MASLOC’s support for the vulnerable

(3rd right) Justin Frimpong Kodua, NPP General Secretary, with MASLOC CEO, and other NPP executive

The General Secretary of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Justin Frimpong Kodua, has lauded the efforts of the Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Company (MASLOC), Hajia Abibata Shanni Mahama Zakariah, towards impacting the vulnerable in the society.

Mr Frimpong Kodua said it is through the intervention of MASLOC that many vulnerable individuals and groups can easily access credit facility to shore up their businesses.

The NPP General Secretary gave the commendation yesterday when the MASLOC CEO paid a visit to the staff and executive of the NPP at the party’s headquarters.

“It is worthy of commendation how within the span of one year the CEO has successfully completed the MASLOC digitalisation project with nationwide training starting in the third quarter of this year. Recently, the CEO and her team have increased the thresholds of group loan amounts from GHS 1,000 to GHS 5,000 depending on the type of trade as well as promoting the ease to access loans by making the required documentation flexible and relaxed,” he stated.

Mr Frimpong Kodua urged the CEO and her outfit to intensify public sensitisation on the roles and functions of MASLOC. This, he indicated, would achieve buy-in amongst beneficiaries to voluntarily repay loans granted them.

Micro enterprise

Responding, Hajia Abibata Mahama appreciated the NPP General Secretary for the warm reception, and reiterated that government is committed to sustaining micro enterprises in Ghana.

She emphasised the Akufo-Addo-led administration’s commitment to sustaining micro enterprises, citing the disbursement of over GHC300 million, since January 2017, in loans to support micro enterprises across the country.

The MASLCO CEO also disclosed that as part of its grand strategy towards poverty alleviation, government is determined to provide continuous respite to women-owned and other small businesses with sustainable loans.

She, however, stressed that government’s financial supports through her institution are not freebies to beneficiaries. Consequently, she said such loans are expected to be repaid on schedule.

She also debunked assertions by propagandists that her outfit resorts to debt collectors to harass defaulters. “The process of debt recovery by MASLOC, as far as I am aware, is always in line with cooperate governance principles,” she clarified.

Economic dev’t

The CEO said MASLOC had been the foundation of Ghana’s socio-economic development over the past 16 years by giving loans to individuals and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) so they can grow their businesses and improve their lives.

“From day one of my appointment, I launched a strategic operational plan to establish a singular operational focus and direction for the organization. The plan realigned the focus of the organization to centre on mostly women, the youth, the physically challenged persons and men,” she noted.

She added that the plan also placed recovery and solvency of MASLOC’s revolving fund as topmost priority

“During this period, the Government’s cost containment measures taken to stabilize the economy exposed the risks of MASLOC’s dependency on Government of Ghana funding. During this period, the Government’s cost containment measures taken to stabilize the economy exposed the risks of MASLOC’s dependency on Government of Ghana funding,” she said.

To address this problem, her outfit successfully negotiated and secured a multi-million-dollar injection of funds from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to help fund MSME loans across the country, as well as enhance the digitalization drive of MASLOC.