Journalist group protests against ADB sale

Accra, Aug.15, GNA - The Association of Journalists for Economic and Social Justice (AJESJ) has added its voice to calls on the management of Bank of Ghana not to sell its shares in the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB).

Mr Granfadaa Ayitomeka, a Spokesperson for the association, said ADB had contributed immensely to the socio-economic development of the country and the sale of the shares should not go ahead in the interest of the state.

Speaking at a press conference in Accra, he noted that the privatisation of viable and strategic national institutions in Africa was an attempt by the West and its agents to roll back the continent's independence.

Mr Ayitomeka said the viable and strategic business entities that were taken over by foreigners had been deliberately run down ostensibly to pave way for foreign competitors.

He said if Stanbic Bank was not able to provide the five per cent credit facility out of its agriculture sector portfolio to local farmers then government should reconsider its decision of the sale of the shares.

Mr Ayitomeka said as a people's bank, ADB offered the cheapest lending rates and had networked all its 48 branches nationwide of which many were situated in the rural areas.

He added that ADB was responsible for procuring 85 per cent of all outboard motors used by fishermen in Ghana as well as the establishment of programmes which had encouraged the youth into farming. Mr Ayitomeka noted that ADB had also crafted the Small Holder Mango Project intended to reduce poverty and stem desertification in the three Northern regions.

"It is the state that solely bears the responsibility to provide vital services such as irrigation schemes, crops insurance, storage facilities and institutional infrastructure to countries that are doing well in agriculture," he added.

The performance of ADB must not be seen in the financial sector or profit but its contribution in terms of yields per acre, income level for farmers in varieties of high yielding crops we consume in Ghana, he said.

The association called on political parties, civil society and pressure groups to come together and fight against the sale of the Central Bank's shares for the sustainability of ABD and the socio-economic development of the country. Several organisations including the GTUC, staff of ADB and Committee for Joint Action, a pressure group made up of opposition parties, have also voiced opposition to the sale. 15 Aug. 07