President Akufo-Addo is hopeful money of depositors of defunct banks and other financial institutions in Ghana will be paid in full after a meeting with the governor of the Bank of Ghana and the Finance Minister.
In all, seven indigenous banks and 20 microfinance and savings institutions lost their licenses of operation, as they were deemed insolvent by the Bank of Ghana.
Whilst prosecution has started to hold those responsible for the mismanagement of the funds accountable, the president is looking at parting with nearly 16 billion cedis to pay all depositors across the country.
The President was interacting with members of the Christian Council of Ghana at the Jubilee house.
He said; “Because of the laxity in our regulatory framework, it was not right in all conscience to punish customers who are depositor in the system. Microfinance institutions were meant to be places where only small amounts of money were kept and yet at some places, large sums of money were taken there in breach of the regulations”
He further stated: “But of the regulations are not being enforced, you cannot really blame the people who did it. That is why the state has taken on the responsibility of trying to refund the money. Both the Finance Minister and the governor of the Bank of Ghana were with me yesterday and we are continuing to work out how quickly we can meet the commitment to ensure that everybody’s money is refunded to them.”
Most Rev, Dr Kwabena Boafo, Chairman of the Council applauded government for the Year of Return initiative.
The chairman in his appreciation speech said;
“We want to humbly request that construction of roads leading to tourist sites in the country are prioritised. We believe that if tourist sites are easily accessible, the country will gain much revenue in addition to the business that they [Diasporans] come in to establish,” he said.
