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Vice President Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur has stated that government would support the Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (SMEs) sector. He said this at the official opening of the head office of Golden Pride Savings & Loans Limited in Obuasi yesterday. The $900,000 multi-purpose building was constructed by the Ghana Mine Workers Union (GMWU) to help assist its members and empower Ghanaians in rural and urban areas. The Vice President noted that some savings and loans companies occasionally compete with commercial banks. Mr. Amissah-Arthur explained that the niche of the small financial institutions was the masses that lacked banking products. �I think that if you serve that segment of the market you will be doing a good job,� he argued, and added that government had made the development of the financial sector a central element to alleviate poverty. He observed that �this is one of the key components in advancing the �Better Ghana� agenda that we�re pursuing.� Vice President Amissah-Arthur pointed out that government would strengthen the financial sector. This new focus of the financial sector is intended to ensure that the country is able to establish a financial system that offers opportunity for all Ghanaians to try and seek economic empowerment and improvement in their lives. Boyd Donko, Assistant Director in charge of Banking and Supervision Department of Bank of Ghana, said the Trade Union Congress (TUC) of which the Ghana Mine Workers Union (GMWU) is a member, had played a key role in the socio-economic development of the country. He commended GMWU for diversifying its activities and setting up a savings and loans company to offer competitive banking services to improve the lives of members and inhabitants in the surrounding communities. Such efforts, he observed, contributed greatly to the financing sector of the country. He said though new companies such as Golden Pride Savings and Loans Limited have the determination and zeal to achieve their corporate mission and objectives, caution must be exercised. Mr. Donkor asked the company to pay attention to corporate governance, internal control and risk management to achieve their objectives. He stated that corporate governance practices would propel management to formulate good policies, implement appropriate controls and provide effective risk management systems in line with the strategic plan of the organization. The banking supervision director also entreated the company to adhere strictly to internal control practices since they are �sine qua non and non-negotiable.� He observed that in recent times risk management had assumed centre stage in financial intermediation and that boards and management of licensed institutions were expected to constantly identify the inherent risk in activities and operations of their institutions. Managing Director, Johnson Asamoah, said Golden Pride would offer a unique value-added approach to providing solutions to resolve the problems of clients and to make significant contributions to the development of the nation. �We are poised to be an institution that is synonymous with business set ups in all parts of the country. We see the building as a catalyst to bring revolution in the way.� Board Chairman, William Prince Ankrah, said the establishment of Golden Pride was a carefully thought-out initiative of GMWU to offer competitive banking products to support to its clients. He argued that due to the foresight of the owners, GMWU had steadfastly given priority to developmental activities in an effort to transform the lives of its members and the country as a whole.