NDC’s ‘women bank’ policy receives divergent views from market women

The proposed establishment of the Women Bank, one of the economic policies contained in the National Democratic Congress's (NDC) manifesto, has been greeted with divergent views among market women, entrepreneurs, and petty traders in the Sunyani Municipality.Since the launch of the manifesto in August this year, the former President John Dramani Mahama, the Election 2024 flagbearer of the NDC and his running mate, Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang had touted the establishment of the Bank to address the challenges female entrepreneurs face in accessing loans from financial institutions.In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on their opinions about the proposed Bank, some women engaged in hawking, petty trading, and entrepreneurship at the Sunyani Central Business District (CBD) welcomed the idea, describing the policy as good intervention.However, other market women at the Sunyani main market questioned the reality of the policy, and therefore, called on the NDC to come clear, and explained to Ghanaians how an NDC government could do that considering the economic situation in the country now.Describing the policy as one of the political gimmicks, some of the market women said they were fed-up with the numerous campaign promises that had taken a center stage in the electioneering.'For me, I just listen to them. If the NDC has anything good to offer us, they would have done that many years back, not at this time that our economy looks bleak,' a trader, Joyce Anima stated.Another trader and a hawker, Esi Araba, also lauded the policy, saying the establishment of such a designated bank would greatly empower businesswomen, entrepreneurs, and market women to expand their economic activities.She, however, expressed the fear that it would be difficult for some women in petty trading and hawking who needed such financial assistance to access the bank because of their social and financial status.Madam Cecelia Foriwaa, a seamstress, also welcomed the NDC policy, and prayed that successive governm ents would empower women financially to set up or expand their businesses and support in the upkeep of their families.'I need only GHS1,000 to expand my tiger nuts and groundnut business. We need financial assistance, and the government must come to our aid,' a tiger nuts seller around the COCOBOD building stated.Source: Ghana News Agency