Kwame Baffoe (Abronye DC), the Bono Regional Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) has described former President John Dramani Mahama as ‘419’ who has nothing to offer Ghanaians regarding the recent financial sector crackdown who has led to some revocation of licenses of some banks and microfinance companies.
According to him, during the 2016 State of the Nation’s address, former President Mahama indicated that “Over the past five years there has been a proliferation of microfinance companies. These companies come under the direct supervision of the Bank of Ghana. Unfortunately, lack of effective supervision has resulted in many cases in which microfinance companies licensed by Bank of Ghana have breached the rules and created supposed pyramid schemes that have eventually come crashing down. One such case is DKM. DKM, with the super high-interest rates of between 50 and 55% promised, is believed to have caused a loss to its clients in excess of GH¢77 million.”
He explained that per Mahama’s statement, if one is making a critical analysis of the banking sector crisis, then it began in 2011 when he (Mahama) was then the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana who doubled as the Chairman of the Economic Management Team (EMT).
Abronye DC again explained on Accra based UTV last Saturday that if Mahama then as the head of the EMT and subsequently the President of the Republic of Ghana couldn’t find solutions to the banking sector problems, and he is saying now as the opposition leader that when given the mandate he will find solutions to it, then he is a 419.
He further indicated that under the watch of John Mahama as the President, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) revoked the licenses of 70 microfinance and money lending companies. Therefore his statement that no licenses of banks were revoked under his watch was false.
Former President John Mahama during a live interaction section with Ghanaians on his Facebook page stated that the confidence of Ghanaians in the whole financial system is shaken because of the recent banking sector crisis.
He said “This crisis has created major problems in the banking and financial system, including deepening the already widely held mistrust and lack of confidence in the system by many people. And there appears to be no end in sight.”
According to Mr Mahama, the developments in the banking and financial system, and the matters arising, call for grave concern for all who have been affected by this financial sector turmoil, especially because it is an issue that threatens our country’s national security.
“We must all be worried about the businesses that have collapsed, the licenses that have been revoked, the massive job losses, the hardship this is causing to some customers, and the trauma of having their lifetime savings in jeopardy. There is also the consequences on the health and well-being of customers and workers, including honouring their obligations as parents by providing for their families and dependants, paying school fees of their wards, and paying rent in order to give their families decent and safe places to lay their heads, among others,” he said.
Mr Mahama noted that “These are trying times indeed and as leader of the main opposition party, I cannot look on unconcerned; we cannot look on without our voices being heard and without being on the side of the many people who may be agonising over this situation because they lost their capital, investment, their lifetime savings, their jobs, their businesses or the fear that their deposits are in jeopardy and are therefore uncertain about their future and that of their families. Those who have been hardest hit by these unfortunate developments include especially market women, artisans, cocoa farmers and the many operators in the informal sector of the economy whose hard work, and yet modest earnings oil the wheels of our national economy.”
He therefore assured all those who have suffered in one way or the other as a result of the approach being used by the government that “we are standing by you and we are working very hard to take over the governance of our beloved country in 2021 and to bring certainty, financial security, progress and prosperity to all Ghanaians, irrespective of their tribe, family or political affiliation.”
