Accra, July 24 GNA - The Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC) said on Tuesday it could not accept that the fortunes of agricultural credits be entrusted into the hands of a foreign private bank which is essentially motivated by its desire for profit. "We are firmly convinced that a nationally owned and controlled Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) is important for the appropriate financial intermediation in the agricultural sector".

Mr Kwasi Adu Amankwah, Secretary General of the TUC was speaking at press conference in Accra on the union's position on the proposed sale of Bank of Ghana's (BOGs) shares in the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) to Standard Bank of Africa (Stanbic Bank).

He called on government to immediately halt the process because the motive behind the proposed sale of ADB was doubtful.

He said while the current acquisition bid was for BoG's 48 percent stake, sources indicated that Stanbic Bank was actually working to secure some, if not all, of the remaining 52 percent shares that were held directly by the government of Ghana on behalf of the people of Ghana.

He said the TUC was opposed to the bid and any such deal leading to the sale of government's majority stakes in such a strategic national asset to a foreign bank which sought to monopolise banking in Africa through acquisition instead of growing through competition with existing banks on the continent.

He said the TUC was also concerned about the issue because of the strategic position of ADB in the economy of Ghana and the potentially negative implications of the acquisition of such an important and strategic national asset by a foreign bank which was simply motivated by

its desire for profits. Mr. Adu-Amankwah said the ADB's financial intermediation in the agricultural sector average nearly 600 billion cedis between 2001 and 2006 whiles that of Stanbic's share total in the same sector had hovered around just three percent since the year 2000.

He cited for example Stanbic's commitment in agriculture in 2006 which was only 45 billion cedis, about eight percent of ABD's total commitment of 544 billion during the same period.

He said ADB held shares in the Ghana International Bank and financed export activities of major agricultural exporters in the country as well as initiated money transfer services with Western Union which had earned the country about 1.334 billion dollars between January 2000 and May 2007.

He said currently ADB has 49 branches and 14 agencies across the country, particularly in the northern part of the country and in remote communities where no foreign bank or purely commercial bank was willing to operate.

"We have no reason to believe that Stanbic Bank will perform better that ADB which has, since its establishment over 40 years ago, built its human resource and financial intermediation capacity in Ghana's most important sector".

The TUC Secretary General further questioned the rationale behind government's intended sale of ADB because of the importance of agriculture and agric credit in Ghana, the risk involve in financial intermediation of the agricultural sector and the strategic importance of ADB in the economic development of the country.

"We wonder why government should even contemplate the sale of its stake in ADB in the first place, let alone consider selling it to a foreign bank whose overriding profit motives are clear" he added. Mr Adu Amankwah also threw a challenged to Stanbic Bank to use its financial expertise and the genuine commitment it proffers to develop the agric sector to compete with existing banks in the country and to monopolise the banking sector through acquisitions just because of its financial clout. 24 July 07