The 2023 National Financial Education Campaign (NFEC) aimed at educating the public on financial issues has been launched in Accra.
The six-month campaign which will end in October further seeks to address the high financial illiteracy rate among the public.
The NFEC formed part of the recommendations of the National Financial Literacy Strategy being implemented between 2021 and 2025.
The strategy seeks to encourage Ghanaians to save, manage and protect their money, protect citizens from financial fraud and scam and plan towards sustainable future.
An initiative of the Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Ghana and financial sector regulators and industry association, the NFEC is being funded by the World Bank.
The Deputy Minister of Finance, Mrs Abena Osei-Asare, who launched the programme in Accra last Monday, expressed gratitude to the World Bank for its continuous support to the development of the Ghanaian economy and in particular, for sponsoring the design and roll-out of the National Financial Education Campaign.
She said the campaign was aimed at bolstering the capacity of Ghanaians to make informed financial decisions.
Mrs Osei-Asare said the Ministry of Finance as part of the design of the financial education campaign conducted a preliminary assessment of Ghana’s financial literacy education landscape in 2021.
The assessment which aimed to identify financial literacy gaps among citizens, she said revealed that, the average financial literacy score in the country is 12 out of a total score of 21.
“This indicates that, many Ghanaians lack the basic understanding on key financial issues such as the impact of inflation on the value of their money, computation of interest on loans and investments, awareness and use of financial products and services, among others. These make it difficult for them to make any informed financial decision, “she said.
The Deputy Minister said financial capability of consumers was a major component to building a strong and resilient economy, saying that “Without this, many people will resort to the old and unsecured ways of handling monies, such as keeping monies under pillows and mattresses.”
The Chairperson of Financial Education Multi-Stakeholder Committee, Patience Arko Boham, said the campaign was meant to educate the public on the basics of savings, investment and insurance, planning for old age and retirement, Ponzi scheme operations.
The Director of the Financial Services Division of the Ministry of Finance, Sampson Akligoh, in his remark said the launching of the campaign was timely considering the current happenings in the domestic and global economy.
BY KINGSLEY ASARE
