The Ghana Journalist Association (GJA) has commended the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) for initiating policies that would promote interactions between the Micro and Small Scale Entrepreneurs (MSEs) in the Metropolis and the Assembly. The TMA as part of its measures to address challenges facing businesses in the Metropolis especially MSEs, has established a Trade and Industry Committee which has representatives from the Association for Ghana Industries (AGI), Trade Union Congress (TUC) as well as the MSEs. Mr Bright Kwame Blewu, General Secretary of the GJA made the commendation on Tuesday when he led a four-member team made up of Mrs Yaa Oforiwaa Asare Peasah, GJA Treasurer, Mr Kwasi Afriyie Badu, Chief Executive Officer of KAB Governance and Mrs Mariam Angela Kyei, Project Director of KAB Governance to interact with Mr David Quaye Annang, Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive. The meeting was a follow up to an earlier interaction between the GJA and the TMA to discuss efforts being made by the Assembly to address the concerns of MSEs in the Metropolis as part of the Association’s project supported by BUSAC Fund to promote activities of small scale businesses under the theme, ‘Using the media to strengthen business advocacy’. Mr Blewu said the Assembly’s innovation of involving leadership of the various groupings of MSEs in policy making, especially fixing of levies was an indication that “TMA means business”. He urged the Assembly to share such good policies with other district assemblies, noting that, more revenue would be accrued, if entrepreneurs were given the opportunity to understand their roles as stakeholders of the local government. Mr Annang elaborating on some of the measures said the Assembly meets regularly with the MSEs to discuss their challenges as well as fixing of fees for a fiscal year, adding that, the Assembly uses such meetings to gather data on the activities of establishments in the metropolis. He again said the MSEs were given the opportunity to categorize themselves as well as suggest the appropriate levy to be paid by its members. The Metropolitan Chief Executive pointed out that even though the Assembly organizes sensitization programmes for the entrepreneurs, most of them, especially the food sellers, refuse to attend, noting that, new measures were being put in place to address the issue. On the issue of revenue collectors demanding more than the required fee from entrepreneurs, Mr Annang advised establishments to always insist on being issued with receipts reflecting the amount they pay to enable the Assembly to deal with perpetrators during its monitoring period. The CEO of KAB Governance, consultants of the GJA for the project also congratulated the TMA for its measures and challenged the Assembly to do more by establishing a desk to solely address the issues of MSE. Mr Badu indicated that a survey carried out by his outfit revealed that even though small and medium enterprises formed about 80 percent of the country’s economic sector, district assemblies did not involve them in policy making, especially fee fixing. Source: GNA