The President of the North-eastern Chapter of the Association of Rural Banks, Mr John Asabigi, as stated that the fulfilment of the GH¢150,OOO minimum share capital as condition for the granting of permission to rural banks to open agencies and pay dividends can affect the existence of community rural banks the country. "Non-payment of dividends will discourage share purchasing from rural banks and lack of minimum share capital can lead to the closure of some banks because of their inability to raise such an amount from the communities," he cautioned. He disclosed that the closure of the rural and community banks would greatly affect the poverty reduction efforts since community and rural banks are all over the country and serve as a conduit for microfinance which tremendously impacts positively on rural enterprise and brings banking to the doorsteps of rural folks. Mr. Asabigi said this at the closing ceremony of a four-day training workshop for members of the North-Eastem chapter of the Association of Rural Banks in Bolgatanga, with the theme "Advocacy Theories and Practices for Business Associations". The workshop was organised by the association and sponsored by the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) Fund. He said deductions for payments to companies at the Controller and Accountant-General's Department affected their ability to recover loans from salary earners and called on the government to take a second look at this system. He thanked BUSAC for funding an earlier workshop, where issues of Secondary Reserve Ratio and the astronomical increase of the minimum share capital requirement which had been a constraint to their operation and existence was addressed. A consultant to the BUSAC Fund, Mr Richard Ananga, said that the workshop would adequately equip participants to identify new challenges in advocacy issues, not only on the part of the government but also for individuals and the general public. He said effective dialogue between the public sector and the business sector was limited in Ghana, adding that the public seemed to have limited understanding of the needs of the private sector and, therefore the role of the private sector was not properly highlighted by the public sector. "It is, therefore, important to create a more effective dialogue between the public sector and the business sector so that the public sector can attend to the needs of the private sector for businesses to operate in more conducive environment, he stressed." He advised the participants to implement what they had learnt at the workshop as this could ultimately improve their performance in business and increase heir revenue. Source: Daily Graphic