Clinton launches anti-poverty programme

A programme to boost economic development among low-income groups in Ghana was launched at the weekend by former US President Bill Clinton and Ghanaian President John Kufuor, news agencies reported on Monday. Known as the "Foundation for Building of Capital of the Poor", the program will educate private investors and encourage them to provide capital, goods and services to create a commercial institution to serve a viable low-income market in Ghana. A regional training institute would be established in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, for the benefit of other African countries interested in Property Reform Programmes (PRP), Ghana News Agency (GNA) said. With Clinton as its patron, the Foundation will operate as a charitable, scientific, educational, research and non-profitable company and will be governed by a seven-member board of directors. It will implement the PRP developed by a Peruvian economist, Hernando de Soto. President Kufuor said at the launch, that the major challenge facing his government was how to convince chiefs, the people and other stakeholders to accept a uniform land tenure system that would protect the rights of ownership. According to Kufuor, the National House of Chiefs, which is the embodiment of the country's customs and traditions was the best institution to assist the nation to bring uniformity in land tenure system for the proper growth of the economy. "Fortunately, the institution of chieftaincy is attracting many enlightened people on whom we can count to take on the challenge of educating the people. There is nothing to fear from harmonising and modernising land law and usage around the country," Kufuor said. Clinton described the foundation as "the best economic idea in the world today". In Peru, Egypt and other countries, the foundation for building the capital of the poor, has unleashed the locked up capital of the poor for prosperous investments that have yielded significant tax revenue for their countries.