Rural Banks dissatisfied with Bank of Ghana’s minimum share capital requirement

31-03-14     

The President of the Upper East Chapter of the Association of Rural Banks, ARBs, Alhaji Sheriff Adams is appealing to the Bank of Ghana to relax its minimum share capital requirement for rural banks in the country, particularly those in the northern sector. He disclosed that directors and management of Rural and Community Banks, RCBs of Northern Ghana are dissatisfied with the newly revised minimum share capital, which has been increased from 150 thousand Ghana Cedis to 300, thousand Ghana cedis to be met by the end of the year. Alhaji Adams told Radio Ghana that the upward adjustment of the share capital could lead to the closure of many rural banks because it would be difficult for them to meet such requirements. The inability of the banks to operate, he warned could also have a rippling effect on government policies and programmes aimed at reducing poverty in deprived areas of the country. Invariably, banks that are not able to comply in meeting the set deadline, will not be permitted to  pay dividends and as well open new branches. He said rural and community banks remain the life wire in the provision of funds for most microfinance businesses, therefore if pragmatic measures are not instituted to ensure the smooth running of the banks, most rural enterprises would not be empowered to expand their businesses. The Bank of Ghana recently revised the minimum paid up capital of RCBs with a flexible time-frame for RCBs to comply. In view of the revision, most RCBs are struggling to meet the previous deadline though they have made strenuous efforts to close the gap. Alhaji Adams explained that looking at the poverty level in deprived areas of the country, getting people to understand and buy shares to enhance the operations of the banks was a major challenge. This is because majority of the people who are predominantly farmers do not see the need to invest into banks. He however appealed to the Central Bank to reduce the minimum share capital and extend the time frame to enable the banks raise the needed share capital to function. He observed that though each bank has its own challenges, it was still imperative for the rural banks to collaborate and merge to be able to raise the said amount since the ARB APEX Bank has a package for banks to go into merging in order to meet the expected share capital requirement.

GBC                                                                         END                                                              IA/

Fight Poverty and not wars: Defence Minister appeal to Chiefs of Northern Ghana

Narration:   Defence Minister Mark Woyongo has emphasized the need for traditional authorities in the north to collaborate and work towards maintaining peace and order for development to strive. He said conflict in certain parts of northern Ghana continue to  thwart governments effort in bringing development to the doorstep of the people, hence the need for chiefs as custodians of the land to remain focus and channel their energies in fighting poverty rather than resorting to retaliatory tendencies. Mr Woyongo made the special appeal when he paid a courtesy call on the Overlord of the Kusaug Traditional Area, Zug-Ran Bawku Naba, Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoko at his palace in Bawku. The visit forms part of his minister’s routine tour of military establishments under the northern command. Correspondent Isaac Asare was there for Radio Ghana and has filed this report

 

Section of troops at the Bazua Detachment

 Report

Mr Woyongo and his entourage were given a rousing welcome by the Bawku Naba and his subjects. Accompanied by the Minister were some senior military and commanding officers including the Chief Director at the Ministry of Defence, Alhaji Alidu Fuseini, the Director Research and Defence Corperation, Mrs Cynthia Asare Badiako, and the Director of Public Affairs, Colonel Comfort Ankomah-Danso and other officers from the Airborne Defence Unit. Addressing the gathering, Defence Minister, Mark Woyongo said the relative peace being enjoyed by residents of Bawku and its environs goes to suggest that the people were tired of taking arms against each other. For him, the level of peace and security in the area was highly commendable and called for peaceful co-existence among feuding factions involved in the conflict.   According to him, relative peace can only be maintained if the Mamprusi side of the Bawku Inter-Ethnic Committee return to the negotiating table. He announced that talks are currently ongoing to ensure their return and contribute to the peace building process. Bawku Naba in his welcome address called on the government to relax the ban on motor riding by males in Bawku since it was affecting their businesses. He was equally worried about the conflict in the area and assured the minister of his commitment to sustain the peace for development to take its course. Mr Woyongo in reaction to the concern raised said the ban could only be lifted upon the advice of the security on the ground. He however called for discipline stressing on the re-activation of the peace committee. The sector Minister later presented two infantry assault vehicles to augment patrol duties in the area. The Minister after the symbolic presentation met with the leader of the Mamprusi group, Alhaji Akalifa Bugre at his palace. The meeting discussed the essence of peace and the need for them to rescind their decision and join the negotiating table.  The Defence Minister however rounded up his tour at the Bazua infantry base, where he announced plans to upgrade the camp to a battalion status. In pursuance of the set objective, Mr Woyongo disclosed plans by the ministry to commence the phase two of the camp and ensure the establishment of a similar base in the Upper West Region to facilitate peace in the northern zone. Beyond that, the ministry was pursuing a facility in parliament to send more battalions to South Sudan to support the peace process, whilst more would be deployed to increase the numerical strength of troops operating in Mali and other UN platforms. Mr Woyongo lauded the professional conduct of the detachment, which he noted had won the respect of the chiefs and people of Bawku and urged them not to only look at the restoring peace but also remain vigilant in clamping down on illegal activities such as smuggling and proliferation of small arms since they poses a serious threat to the security in the country.  

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Banking institutions asked to comply with central bank’s directive on dollarization

05-02-14     

Scenario: Customers queuing at the bank 

Banking institutions in the country have been asked to fashion out modalities that can contribute in saving the continuous decline of the cedi. Additionally, central bank’s directive on dollarization should be strictly adhered to, whilst putting in measures to ensure the stability of cedi, which is fast depreciating against the foreign currencies, particularly the dollar. The DCE for Talensi, Edward Awunnore, who made the call entreated Ghanaians to contribute their quota in saving the cedi from further decline. Mr Awunnore was addressing participants at the maiden Word Fm Bankers Banquet held in Bolgatanga. The event attracted business representatives as well as staff of the various banking institutions in the region. It was organized by Word fm, a local fm station to bring on board stakeholders in the banking sector to take stock of their activities and chart a new path of service improvement geared towards the development of the banks.   Mr Awunnore, noted that the general performance of the banking sector in the region has overtime witnessed a significantly growth since most of the important indicators continue to show a positive trend. He said notwithstanding the said achievements, there was the need for the banks to build on their current performance and consider putting in place new programmes and policies to sustain and improve their operations. Beyond that, banking institutions with limited space to accommodate clients should expedite action by establishing more branches in strategic areas of the region to ease congestion as occasionally experienced during the payment of workers’ salaries. Mr Awunnore, moreover challenged the banks in the region to improve on their client service delivery through enhanced training programmes. This, he observed will not only address customers service but also attract more customers and enable them build a corporate image to ensure regular  patronage of their products and services.

GBC                                                                      END                                                     IA/