December 31 Women's Movement inaugurates gari factory

Trawa (E/R), July 5, GNA - The President of the December 31 December Women's Movement, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, has called on members of the movement to manage the movement's projects to enable it to back the loans raised to build them.

She said the movement had never taken any money from the government and that it had its means of raising funds to finance its projects.

Nana Konadu was speaking at the inauguration of a 250 million-cedis gari factory for members of the movement at Trawa, a village near Klo-Agogo in the Yilo Krobo District on Wednesday. She said the project started in 1998 but it delayed because it was started with a loan from the Africa Development Bank but after 2000, the government blocked the loan and so the movement had to negotiate for new loans to complete it.

Nana Konadu said the movement had been able to establish a lot of gari processing, oil palm processing and shea butter extraction factories for women groups in different parts of the country. Nana Konadu urged the members of the movement to encourage their daughters who are 18 years and above to join it.

The Project and Financial Co-coordinator of the movement, Ms Sherry Ayittey, said no amount of harassment or intimidation could force the leadership of the movement to abandon their determination to contribute to the emancipation of women.

She said it was those who were against the efforts at helping women who were trying all means to falsely accuse the leadership of the movement.

Ms Ayittey said those who had stolen state money were freely walking the streets of Ghana and innocent people were rather being prosecuted.

She advised the women of Trawa to take good care of the project so that more funds could be raised to provide the community with school and health facilities.

The Eastern Regional Coordinator of the movement, Ms Mary Ansah, appealed to opinion leaders and religious leaders to help stop harassment of e movement.