AASEMBLY ESTABLISHES INDUSTRIAL SITE AT BECHEM (PAGE 22, SEPT 11, 2010)

THE Tano South District Assembly, in conjunction with the German Technical Co-operation (GTZ) and the Bechem Traditional Council, has established an industrial site at Bechem, the district capital, to help promote the activities of Small and Medium Scale-Enterprises (SMSE), in the district.
The GH¢130,038,000 industrial site would also have a rural technology facility equipped with state-of-the-art machines to train artisans in modern trends of automobile engineering, among others.
The Rural Enterprise Project (REP) is funding the training centre.
The district assembly provided GH¢38,000 towards the project with the traditional council donating the parcel of land for its establishment, while the GTZ contributed GH¢130 million for the connection of electricity from the national grid, as well as water and other basic facilities.
The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Tano South District, Mr Bukari Zakari Anaba, made this known while addressing one of the capacity-building training workshops for hairdressers in the district at Bechem.
He said the project formed part of the assembly’s efforts to promote SMSEs in the district and help them to build their capacities and expand their businesses to create employment avenues for the youth towards the growth of the local economy.
Mr Anaba stated that hairdressers, tailors and dressmakers in the district had so far benefited from the capacity-building programme for SMSEs estimated at GH¢8,000.
He said it was the desire of the government to support SMSEs at the district level to build their capacities to enable them to expand their businesses.
Mr Anaba said the government had decided to increase its funding to the Business Advisory Centre (BAC) under the National Board for Small-Scale Industries (NBSSI) to provide training for SMSEs.
He added that the decision by the government to support the growth of SMSEs at the district level was one of its campaign promises to invest in the people.
Touching on some development projects, the DCE said the assembly was opening up the district capital by upgrading 16.5 kilometres in the town.
Mr Anaba said the assembly was also benefiting from the construction of a six-classroom block for Derma Roman Catholic Primary School financed by the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund).
He added that the assembly, through the District Assembly Common Fund (DAFC), was also constructing a six-classroom block for the Bechem  Nkwanta Local Authority Primary School, while the Bechem Presbyterian Senior High School (SHS) was a beneficiary of an additional six–classroom block for the beginning of the three-year SHS programme.