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Regional News of Sunday, 1 February 2004

Source: GNA

Bank manager debunks the "no money in people's pockets" notion

New Edubiase (Ash), Jan 31, GNA - A banker has described as erroneous the notion that there was not enough money in the pockets of Ghanaians.

Mr Lawrence Ansong, the New Edubiase branch manager of the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), who debunked the notion, said what was happening in the country now was that there was no easy money for people any longer.

Speaking to the press on the financial situation at New Edubiase at the weekend, he said people have realised that they now have to work very hard to get money and are therefore very careful about the way they spend.

Mr Ansong said, for instance, last year alone, the New Edubiase branch gave out 60 billion cedis as loans to its customers who were mostly farmers and businessmen which had been paid back in full. He noted that there was enough money in the system but said the problem with majority of the people was how to manage their finances judiciously.

Mr Ansong therefore, called on financial institutions and Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) to focus attention on financial management workshops and seminars for the people, including farmers.

They should also mount intensive education on the prudent management of one's resources, pointing out that, that was the only way to get people to manage their money properly to reduce poverty. The Manager said there was no short-cut to getting money, unless through hard work and therefore, asked Ghanaians to work very hard to be able to earn a living.

Mr Ansong also took the opportunity to appeal to political leaders to seek relevant information from established financial institutions before making pronouncements about the nation's economy.