Aspiring National Chairman of the Progressive People's Party (PPP) Nana Ofori Owusu has lambasted the Akufo-Addo government over demands that banks should raise a whopping amount of GHC 400 million as a new capital requirement.
The Central Bank has asked the banks to raise the capital to be kept in the reserve of the Bank of Ghana in order to bail out the banks when they're at the verge of folding up.
Addressing the issue on Peace FM's Kokrokoo, Nana Ofori Owusu told host Nana Yaw Kesseh that the Central Bank's directive is "unfair" and an "attempt to burden indigenous banks" in the country.
He asked the government to review the directive to ensure that the interest and welfare of indigenous banks come first before foreign banks which, he believes, have the support of their countries to thrive in this nation.
“Government must review and have a listening ear…How many indigenous banks can raise this Ghc 400 million capitalization? It’s not fair. It’s not practical”.
Nana Ofori Owusu stated emphatically that "Ghana must protect its own. How can you have a country that nationalism in terms of protecting your own people, your own assets; it doesn’t take priority over anything else? How can you do that…There must be clauses. Other countries put clauses to ensure that their indigenous banks are protected ahead of the foreign banks…How can we develop as a nation, as a people, we’re not thinking about ourselves, self-preservation first and we think about others? It’s sickening. We must get away from this type of mindset. They must give those indigenous banks that don’t have the opportunity and need time to raise the money; you must give them the time”.