Banking crisis: Not every affected customer can be paid this year

The Director of Strategy and Business Operations at Dalex Finance, Joe Jackson has backed former President John Mahama’s claim that government cannot pay locked up cash of customers of the collapsed financial institutions before the end of 2020.

John Dramani Mahama in a Facebook live engagement on Thursday insisted that the government does not have the capacity to honour such promise despite directing the Finance Minister to put measures in place to defray such cost.

Backing this statement on Citi TV/FM’s current affairs program, The Big Issue on Saturday, Joe Jackson said only money from ‘Father Christmas’ can be used to clear such locked up cash.

“…So I have to agree with President Mahama…From where I sit, and the numbers that have been put forth in the budget, and what we’ve observed, I can’t see everyone being paid in full before the end of this year.”

“The only way everybody is going to be paid in full and on time is that a Father Christmas is going to put the cash on the table. I don’t think this government and its affirmation of fiscal discipline in this election year is just going to be able to do it. It’s just as simple as that,” he argued.

Mahama’s promise

John Mahama, the flagbearer for the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Facebook live session said it may even take the government more than a year to clear the monies owed the depositors of these collapsed financial institutions.

As part of promises being made towards the general elections this year, he then said that his government will refund depositors’ monies in the shortest possible time.

“…We believe that we do owe depositors. When I come into government, we will make sure we will pay depositors their monies within the shortest possible time,” he said.

Pay affected customers – PEF

Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer of the Private Enterprises Federation (PEF), Nana Osei Bonsu has urged the government to as a matter of urgency, seek other means to pay out customers affected by the financial sector clean-up.

He called on the two regulators, the Bank of Ghana and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to explore other ways they can effectively payout customers.

“Thirty days ago, these directives were issued and as at now, nothing has happened. So what are we waiting for? All these lamentations and gimmicks and all that is not going to solve the problem. Pay the people! Whether they have to float a bond, or print money, or any other ways to make the money available, [they should do it],” he insisted.

The clean-up

The Banking sector has since 2017 seen series of clean up exercises carried out by the Bank of Ghana and the Security and Exchange Commission.

So far, the sector has seen the collapse of over 400 financial institutions.

The clean-up exercise has also led to millions of customers unable to have access to their funds.

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