Banks procure armoured bullion vans, Interior Ministry stalling operationalisation – GAB

Police foil robbery attack on bullion van

Police urge banks to improve logistical support for cash-in-transit activities

Armoured bullion vans parked at Tema Harbour – John Awuah

The Ghana Association of Bankers has disclosed that banks operating in the country have made headway in the acquisition of armoured bullions vans for cash-in-transit activities.

Although the vehicles are yet to be operational, Chief Executive Officer of the Association, John Awuah, said the Interior Ministry is yet to fast track processes needed.

In an interaction on Joy FM’s Midday News on Wednesday, February 23, the Bankers Association boss lamented the slow pace of the processes in the operationalising of the armoured bullion vehicles.

“I can say that we’ve made some progress from the perspective of the banks. Unfortunately, we need the Interior Ministry to fast track their processes and to enable them release the documentation that will enable banks bring in these vehicles. As we speak, some banks have armoured vehicles parked at the Tema Harbour," he is qouted by the MyJoyonline.com

“They’re unable to clear them because the processes for getting these vehicles cleared at the Interior Ministry have almost stalled. We’re not making progress at the Ministry at the moment”, John Awuah stressed.

The GAB president however added that the Ministry of Interior has expressed some concern over the operationalizing of the procured vans, adding that, this had resulted in the stalemate.

John Awuah who described the situation as unfortunate explained, “So the concern the Interior Ministry has raised with the industry is that given the numbers that we’re talking about; we’re talking about replacing all the soft body vans with these armoured bullion vans. What it means, is that if we have 300 to 400 soft skin vans, we’re going to have almost the same number of bullion vans on our streets; which to them can pose another level of security risk."

He added, "So, to an extent, I can understand that they want to have a structure around it. But unfortunately, the process towards putting in place the structure that will allow us to bring in these vehicles has just been completely broken down. We don’t even know how to proceed from here anymore."

“The approvals have stalled. Those who have managed to bring some of the vehicles to the port, the vehicles are parked there and we have no visibility on what is happening that will enable us to clear them," John Awuah clarified.

The GAB president further said though some banks are yet to procure armoured bullion vans, some of them have had put in place contingency plans for the transportation of cash across the country.

“So, the way the cash-to-transit process works, most of the banks do not undertake the process themselves. It’s an outsourced operation and so we have cash in transit companies. And you know in this particular incident, it was one of the companies, ‘Montran’, whose vehicle was involved in the incident."

“It is the companies, a lot of the instances, who are procuring the vehicles. But some banks have taken it upon themselves to procure some strategic stick or fleet of the vehicles. So, in the unlikely event that there’s a mishap somewhere, their vehicles will step in to ensure seamless cash movement”, John Awuah said.

Meanwhile, the Ghana Police Service (GPS) has reiterated calls for all financial institutions in the country to resort to the use of fit-for-purpose bullion vans for transporting cash across the country.

This comes after the Police in Greater Accra foiled an attempted robbery attack on a bullion van near the North Industrial Area on Tuesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, watch last week's edition of BizTech below: