Members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Trade and Industry (PSCTI), have called for the extension and expansion of the GJA/BUSAC media advocacy project. According to them, the project's success story indicates that its extension and expansion in the three northern regions would help reduce poverty and improve living standards of the people. The members made the call in an interaction with the National Executive Committee of Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and management of KAB Governance Consult, a media consultancy firm in Accra. The GJA and Business Sector Advocacy Challenge Fund (BUSAC) project is to enhance growth of the private sector through effective dialogue with the public sector. The project: "Using the Media to Strengthen Business Advocacy" is being financed by BUSAC through GJA. BUSAC was established to create an enabling environment for SME's and media to influence public policy formulation. This is being undertaken through appropriate research, developing evidence-based policy positions and advocating them with government and the private sector targeted by the action. Mr Isaac Osei, Member of Parliament for Subin and member of the committee, noted there has been improvement in the operations of SME's since the inception of the project. However, he said more advocacy work is needed to make the private sector the engine of growth of the country. Mr Osei noted that SMEs constitute 95 per cent of registered businesses in the country and, therefore, require better attention. He said the committee would recommend to government to re-introduce the Business Advisory Centre (BAC) services nationwide to provide an advisory role on improvement in the sector to play its role in the national economy. "Adequate resources for the National Board for Small Scale Industry (NBSSI) is needed to enable it perform its mandate better, "he added. Mr Osei said the committee is considering recommending to government to establish a Ministry for Credit and Commerce to deal with loans for SMEs to boost their operations. Mr Kwasi Afriyie-Badu, Chief Executive Officer of KAB Governance Consult, called for the involvement of SMEs operators in the fixing of rates as stipulated in the 1992 Constitution. He revealed that research conducted into the operations of SMEs in the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) indicates that some laws pertaining to their operations are being flouted. "We also discovered that the deductions from the District Assemblies Common Fund by the government and items purchased without resolutions by the assemblies are not proper and a strain on the fund," Mr. Afriyie-Badu said. He said deductions made from the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) at source affect operations of most of the assemblies because it renders them less resourced and unable to support the SME's. General Secretary of GJA, Mr Bright Blewu, said the project is being implemented nationwide to promote SME's through advocacy and the engagement of the media in their activities. He noted that under the project, GJA/BUSAC has organized numerous training programmes for selected journalists nationwide to equip them to play a key role in improving operations of the private sector. Source: GNA