Establishment of another development bank a misplaced priority - Seth Terkper

• Mr Terkper noted that the decision was a misplaced priority and waste of resources

• He noted that the money should have been invested in the National Investment Bank instead of establishing a new one

• Seth Terkper said banks were deliberately collapsed to make way for the establishment of the new development bank which is not necessary now

Seth Terkper, former Finance Minister of Ghana has indicated that the decision to set up a new development bank is a misplaced priority as a nation.

According to him, the money should rather be given to the National Investment Bank (NIB) to make it productive rather than setting up a new development Bank.

In an interview with GhanaWeb’s Amos Ekow Coffie, Mr. Terkper noted that it is a misplaced priority and a duplication of development banks in the country and will have no direct developmental impact on the nation.

“They should have given the money to NIB, it was established as our investment bank by Nkrumah, there is no need for any new development bank. It is duplication, they only making NIB a commercial brand, the NIB was never meant to be a commercial brand, it is just like Agriculture Development Bank, and that is a commercial bank for Agric, but NIB was an investment bank so what is the difference between an investment bank and a development bank?” he said.

“The first money they used was money for COVID-19, it is in the budget, the first 350 million cedis they said they were going to use to establish it, was for COVID-19. Was it a priority at the time? You collapse other people’s bank for so many billions and then you go and take 170 million Euros and you are proud of it?” he added.

Meanwhile, The Ministry of Finance and the European Investment Bank have signed an agreement for the provision of a one hundred-and seventy-million-euro (€170 million) facility for the establishment of a new national bank, the Development Bank Ghana (DBG).

DBG is an integral feature of the GH¢100 billion Ghana Cares ‘Obaatampa’ Project, which is seeking the revitalization of the Ghanaian economy following the onset of COVID-19.

This event took place on Wednesday, 19th May 2021, when the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, held a meeting with the President of the European Investment Bank, Dr Werner Hoyer, as part of his official visit to Belgium.

The €170 million facilities, according to Dr. Hoyer, is the largest facility provided by the European Investment Bank for the establishment of a development bank in Africa or for any other project, for that matter, on the continent.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, President Akufo-Addo noted that “the Development Bank Ghana is going to play a very important part in the rapid economic transformation of Ghana, following the onset of COVID-19.”

According to him, “We want to restructure the economy and move it from being a mere producer and exporter of raw materials to one that places much greater emphasis on value addition activities. We see this Bank (DBG) as one that will play a pivotal role in this”.

The President indicated that the design and operation of the Bank, “which has been on the drawing board for the last two years”, will satisfy the highest standards, scrutiny and best practices of Development Banks across the world, assuring further that the €170 million facilities from the EIB will be used for the purposes for which it was sought.”