The University of Ghana Co-operative Credit Union has held its annual general meeting for the year 2024 to adequately discuss issues pertaining to the union’s vision.
The meeting, held at the Great Hall of the University of Ghana on April 30, 2024, was chaired by the Chairman of the Management Board, Mr. Michael Asante Antwi.
Distinguished guests, including the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof. Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, a representative of the Credit Union Association’s general manager, members of the management board and staff, committee members, representatives from other campuses, and other notable individuals, graced the occasion.
Speaking to the gathering, the Chairperson of the management board, Mr. Michael Asante Antwi outlined challenges faced by the union in the past year. He underscored the depreciation of the cedi against other foreign currencies, the domestic debt exchange program (DDEP), and other significant factors.
“As noted earlier, the period under review coincided with severe economic challenges experienced in Ghana. Among them was the depreciation of the cedi against major foreign currencies such as the dollar, pounds, and euros. The Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) also significantly impacted on the activities of the financial sector, with banks and other financial institutions declaring huge losses. Inflation rose to the highest level in a decade to about 54.1% in the period under review, leading to the high cost of operations.”
“To further curb the increase in inflation, the Central Bank increased its monetary policy rate to about 30%, resulting in a high average lending rate. The government’s emphasis on financing the budget deficit from the Treasury Bill market with a relatively high yield has diverted investors’ attention to the money market. The high yield on Treasury Bills caused members to request for an increase in interest rates on savings and other investments at the Credit Union. This has denied the Union the opportunity to mobilize excess funds from members.”
Given the challenges experienced by the union in the past year, it’s vital to explore alternative avenues for expanding the union’s membership, as explained by the chairman.
He also addressed growth prospects that the board has evaluated for expanding the union. According to him, the potential for membership growth within current member institutions has plateaued, necessitating the union to explore other avenues for membership expansion, a proposal endorsed by the assembly.
“In view of the above, our board wishes to pursue the following growth opportunities:
1. Admission of spouses and adult children of institutional members.
2. Admission of member-owned businesses.
3. Admission of individuals and businesses operating on campus.
4. Admission of members as savers only.”
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof. Nana Aba Appiah Amfo expressed enthusiasm about the new union’s growth and commended their efforts, emphasizing the importance of exploring further opportunities within the university.
During an exclusive interview with UniversNews, the union manager, Mr. Francis Fiayiya discussed the savings opportunities available to students within the University of Ghana and beyond while emphasizing on its core mandate as serving salaried workers.
“UG credit union exists to serve salaried workers, however, because we’re operating in an academic environment, we’ve the need to open the opportunities for students who will eventually become employees or business owners to develop the habit of saving, while in school. For the requirement, we have a simple form for the member to complete with the student ID card.”
“We have decided to waive off some operational costs like financial charges of the student’s account and allow students to benefit from their package. In addition, we pay interest on savings accounts. Although we don’t pay interest on current accounts, for the student’s accounts exclusively, we pay interest.”
The University of Ghana Credit Union is still open to credible institutions with provident funds to agree to deductions for salary.
