Former President of Ghana and flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress, John Dramani Mahama, has pledged to restore Ghanaian participation in the banking sector, emphasizing the importance of indigenous banks in supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
In a recent meeting with the clergy, Mahama criticized the incumbent government’s failure to rescue smaller banks, which play a vital role in financing small businesses.
“Small and medium enterprise lending is the riskiest thing. The big banks do not want to do it, and so it is those small Ghanaian banks that were doing it which is why they got into trouble, and so we had an obligation to save them. Unfortunately, we did not, we flushed them down the drain.”
Mahama highlighted that the collapse of these local banks has made it increasingly difficult for small business owners, such as bakers, to access tailored financial support. He stressed that foreign banks like Absa and Stanbic do not offer the same level of attention and flexibility to SMEs.
“You cannot go to the Absas of this world or the Stanbics of this world as a small baker and expect the same kind of attention and finance that you would have received from UT Bank or UniBank.”
He further emphasized that restoring Ghanaian ownership in the banking and finance sector is crucial not only for supporting local businesses but also for national security.
“Who owns your banking assets is a national security issue. We must not have a banking sector dominated by foreign banks only. We must have indigenous banks owned by Ghanaians.”
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Story by: Akpalu Edmond Deladem | univers.ug.edu.gh
