RE: Consolidated Bank sacks over 400 former Beige Bank staff

TEIN KNUST wishes to express our deepest regret over the current issues happening in the banking sector of Ghana as a result of the quick and unconditional actions by the current administration of the Bank of Ghana.

The decision of BoG to increase the minimum capital of commercial banks from GHS120m to GHS400m has made many of these smaller banks fall prey to sanctions that they are enduring at the moment.

If seven banks have been collapsed from which a bank was formed out of five and the newly created bank cannot accommodate all the staff of the merged banks, then it is a societal disaster and economic earthquake.

The people laid off are going to increase the total number of unemployed people in the country. They are going to put pressure on their families since they cannot earn money to cater for themselves and even support their families.

As an educational wing of the National Democratic Congress, we wish to draw the attention of BoG and for that matter Government of the day to the fact, the decision taken will bring hunger, suffering and public outcry to the Ghanaian people. Laying off as many as 400 staff of a merged bank will bring no economic development to Ghana.

To the affected staff of the these merged banks, TEIN KNUST share a common feeling with you and will stand to advise government on its reckless decisions. As a party that promised job creation while in opposition through which Ghanaians voted you into power, some of these decisions are uncalled for.

The kind of support these micro- banks bring to various communities cannot be underscored since they provide loans to farmers, employment for senior high school graduates and tertiary institutions graduates. However, the impact of most of the commercial banks are not felt by rural communities and most individuals.

We know Ghanaians have learnt a lot from dynamism and will decide well in subsequent elections.