Village savings and loans associations and livelihood of people in rural communities in the bole district of Ghana: A case of village savings and loans associations supported by jaksally youth group

Poverty reduction has been a major concern of Governments and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in Ghana. As a result of the implementation of some policies, programmes and projects, poverty levels in Ghana have generally fallen from approximately 51.7 percent in 1991/92 to 28.5 percent in 2005/2006.However, whilst it fell in all regions of the country, the pace of poverty reduction has been weakened in Northern Ghana. To complement the efforts of Government in fighting poverty in Northern Ghana, the Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA) model is being adopted by Jaksally Youth group which aimed at promoting access to credit among the rural poor as a means of reducing poverty. The study results indicate that 74 percent of the respondents joined the VSLAs 1-2 years ago and the associations meet weekly. Savings are usually kept in a savings kit (metal box with three padlocks) and all members are qualified to borrow from their respective associations at an interest rate of 10 percent. As much as 74.2 percent and 62 percent of the respondents invest a greater proportion of their loans and savings respectively in Income Generating Activities (IGAs). Registration with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) reduced marginally from 98 percent to 96 percent among respondents whilst access to education increased from 90 percent to 98 percent among children of the respondents. Absenteeism and lateness to meetings by the VSLAs’ members posed as the major challenge to their operations. The VSLAs can be used as a tool to achieve significant reduction in poverty in Northern Ghana if Jaksally is being assisted by Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies and NGOs to replicate the model in other areas.