Women in the informal sector within the Accra Metropolis have been urged to be disciplined in their expenditure as they work to create wealth and put body and soul together. Madam Elizabeth Kwatsoe Tawiah Sackey, Chief Executive, Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), who made the clarion call said most women in the sector had demonstrated the spirit of hard work and commitment to succeed but lacked saving culture. ‘Let’s plan our lives, nurture our plans to grow and bear fruits. We need to develop a savings culture so that at every point in our lives we shall be cushioned and have that financial freedom,’ she said. She said this at an Economic Empowerment Summit for women in the informal sector held to help surmount financial challenges in their socio-economic lives. She said most Small and Medium Scale Enterprises within the central business district of the Metropolis were owned by the females, but a substantial number of them became short-lived due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, lack of proper financial decisions and inability to create the avenue for growth in their businesses. The Ghana Statistical Services had indicated that 2021 population of the Accra Metropolis was 284,104, and out of this figure, 52.8 per cent were females while 47.18 per cent formed the male segment. The MCE said women’s economic empowerment and financial inclusion had been recognized as key to achieving the 2023 agenda for sustainable Development. She called on the women to uphold the best business practices, make their customers a priority in serving them whilst keeping their environment clean and obeying all the Assembly by-laws. ‘AMA has been registering some of you to the National Health Insurance Scheme to ensure you have equal access to healthcare. Under the department of social welfare, several interventions are rolled out to improve the wellbeing of women and the vulnerable in our communities,’ she added. Dr Owusu Boampong, Senior Research Fellow, University of Cape Coast, said research conducted in 11 cities including Accra revealed that the informal sector had been hard-hit, exacerbating the plight of vulnerable women in the sector. He said some workers had eaten into their savings and majority could not recover their monies, adding that in our quest to create jobs and promote clean Citi, authorities must not ‘clear’ the market women out of business but engage them to find a solution. ‘The mandate of the city authorities is to ease congestion, improve public health and create jobs. If we care about jobs in the informal sector, then Citi authorities can work together with the informal actors to achieve a clean city and at the same time maintain jobs,’ Dr Boampong said.
Source: Ghana News Agency