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Admit your mistake and restore GN Bank’s license – Groupe Nduom to BoG

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Groupe Nduom has contested the Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) statements regarding GN Savings from August 16, 2019.

On June 14, the BoG defended its decision to revoke GN Bank’s license in 2019, asserting that the revocation was due to significant regulatory violations. 

The Central bank claimed that GN Bank’s failure to adhere to critical financial regulations and banking standards jeopardized its operational stability.

The BoG implied that it cannot restore GN Bank’s license as demanded by the bank’s management. 

In its August 2019 statement, the BoG detailed that GN Bank failed to meet requirements for capital adequacy, liquidity, governance, and risk management.

However, Groupe Nduom, in a release on Sunday, June 16, argued that the BoG’s declaration of GN Savings’ insolvency was based on “wildly inaccurate” information. 

The group demanded the restoration and upgrade of GN Savings’ license, asserting that the BoG’s claim of insufficient funds was incorrect. 

Groupe Nduom also stated that GN Savings had more than the GHS30.33 million cited by the BoG in its decision.

“The statements Bank of Ghana (BOG) issued on August 16, 2019, regarding GN Savings are wildly inaccurate. BOG was aware that GN Savings had available to it more than the GHS30.33 million that it relied upon to declare it insolvent; GN Savings was not allowed by regulation and GN Bank did not engage in illegal foreign currency transfers; GN Savings complied with all requirements laid down by BOG as a savings and loans company and wrote a detailed report in June 2019 to prove that its business was moving positively forward.”

“These facts are indisputable. BOG made a mistake that it must admit to and correct. Today, the Government of Ghana, its agencies and contractors owe Groupe Nduom companies over GHS7.1 billion. With this money, customers will be paid and GN Savings will have enough capital to become a universal bank once again,” portions of the statement said.

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Ghana Reports First Oil Output Increase in Five Years With Production Rising By 10.7%

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Ghana has recorded a 10.7% increase in crude oil production in the first half of 2024, marking a reversal in a five-year trend of declining output, according to a report by Ghana’s Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC).

The growth was largely driven by the Jubilee South East (JSE) project, managed by Tullow Oil, which began production in late 2023. This addition to Ghana’s Jubilee oil field helped boost production to 24.86 million barrels by June 2024, compared to a 13.2% decline over the same period in 2023.

PIAC’s half-year report also highlighted a significant rise in petroleum revenue, which surged by 56% year-on-year to $840.8 million by mid-2024. Ghana, a country that began oil production in 2010, depends on petroleum revenue for around 7% of government income. The report further noted a 7.5% increase in gas output, reaching 139.86 million standard cubic feet by June.

Despite the positive trend, Isaac Dwamena, coordinator of PIAC, cautioned that Ghana’s petroleum sector faces both technical and financial challenges. Ghanaian law requires oil companies to allocate at least 12% of project shares to the state, a mandate Dwamena noted can deter investment due to the high cost. “The state can take 15%, 20% carried interest based on negotiations, and that has been a disincentive,” he explained.

To further drive production, Ghana is planning to sell more exploration rights, aiming to harness its fossil fuel resources while also generating funds to support its energy transition. Major oil companies operating in the country include Eni, Tullow Oil, Kosmos Energy, and PetroSA.

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President urges universities to strengthen ties with industries

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President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has called on universities in Ghana to strengthen ties with government, industries, and the communities they serve to ensure that researches are aligned with the needs of society.

That would contribute directly to the realisation of national development goals, he said.

The President made the call at Nyankpala during a ceremony to inaugurate a three-storey multi-purpose building for the University of Development Studies (UDS).

The building fulfills the President’s promise to the UDS during its 25 Anniversary celebrations.

It is named the “Silver Jubilee Building” in remembrance of the President.

The facility boasts of offices, conference halls, lecture theaters, and houses some faculties of the university.

President Akufo-Addo said universities were “breeding grounds” for ideas, researches and innovations that drove the nation’s progress and should remain actively engaged in the development process.

He said government believed in educating the population as the bedrock of a thriving democracy, a vibrant economy and a just society.

The President, thus, outlined some policies implemented aimed at improving access to education at all levels, which included the “no guarantor policy”.

He said the policy had improved access to tertiary education as it had eliminated financial barriers that historically prevented brilliant students from pursuing higher education.

The “no guarantor policy” for student loans increased the numbers of students seeking tertiary education from 443,978 in the 2016-2017 academic year to 711,695 in the 2020-2023 academic year, an increase of 60.3 per cent.

President Akufo-Addo said his government had extended considerable energy and resources to the education sector, recognising it as the most powerful tool to transforming the nation.

He said: “The considerable budgetary allocations within the period totaling some GH¢12.8 billion, amply demonstrates the shared determination of the Akufo-Addo government to ensure that education becomes a catalyst around which the transformation of our nation revolves.”

Source: GNA

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We’ve learnt our lessons; we won’t borrow to finance 2024/2025 crop season

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The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has announced that it will transition to self-financing for the 2024/2025 cocoa crop season, starting in September 2024.

For the past 32 years, COCOBOD has relied on offshore borrowing to finance cocoa purchases through its cocoa syndication programme. However, the organization is shifting its strategy to reduce dependency on external funds.

Speaking to the media on Tuesday, August 20, COCOBOD’s CEO, Joseph Boahen Aidoo, explained that this new approach is expected to save an estimated $150 million.

“Is it good that always COCOBOD should be heard going to borrow? Are we comfortable with that tag? Today, you have heard that COCOBOD is not going to borrow. It is quite a good time for any human being to learn his or her lessons.

“In 32 years, we have learned our lessons and we think that it is high time we wean ourselves from the offshore international financial markets and then finance the crop ourselves here and that is exactly what we are going to do. And I think it comes with a lot of projectory benefits.

“We are looking for $1.5 billion this crop season and looking at the interest rates last year, which were over 8 percent, plus the cost, it means that we can save more than $150 million by the decision not to go offshore.

He also denied assertions that COCOBOD was short-changing farmers with its pricing of cocoa.

“It is not true that COCOBOD is not giving the farmers a fair price. If you follow the narrative, you will notice that from 2017 on, COCOBOD has even been more than fair.

“The government had been more than fair to farmers because this was a time when prices had collapsed but the government and COCOBOD did not reduce the farmers’ price.”

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