Issues relating to the sale of the National Investment Bank (NIB) to the ADB Bank (adb) or its amalgamation with the latter have been long-standing.
What is even curious is that in 2010, the adb itself was rumoured as going to be put on sale and the Ministry of Finance swiftly debunked the rumour.
In the subsequent years the issues involving the two banks kept coming up.
Yesterday, the Minority in Parliament called on the government to recapitalise the NIB and abort any idea of selling it to the adb.
The propagandist stance taken by opposition parties in the country sometimes makes it difficult for some individuals, groups and organisations to take them seriously.
Sometimes they speak without facts and figures and even when they attempt to provide them, they come up with some figures that turn up to be cooked up.
But it appears the Minority provided information that can be verified and so we wish to make some comments about their concerns.
We consider the issues as concerns because the minority is giving facts and figures to prove that any such attempt can be shelved and rather save NIB to avoid the ripple effects on the bank’s workers, their immediate families and their dependents, as well as the government as it is likely to suffer some financial burden.
It is recalled that the financial sector clean-up done in the country in recent years has created some job losses and while some analysts have hailed the exercise as good notwithstanding the challenges, others say it was not worth it.
We have not forgotten that the exercise was estimated to cost about GH¢10 billion but it ended in excess of GH¢21 billion that had to be borne by the taxpayer or the state.
What were the causes of that exercise and what is precipitating the current move to dispose of the NIB?
We understand the two situations may be different but we can see that they will eventually share some things like job losses.
We, therefore, wish to suggest that if what the Minority is saying is anything to go by, then the government must rethink the stand to have its way and consider the say of the Minority for the greater good of the country.
Why should the government fail to honour its financial obligations to the NIB but turn round to accuse it of financial weakness for which it must be disposed of?
The caucus is saying that they wish for a situation where the NIB and adb could come together to build the financial muscle and the capacity to support the country’s agricultural growth and for industrialisation to be taken care of as espoused by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, in 2018.
With this as the background, we wish to join in the Minority’s refrain that NIB’s biggest problem of capitalisation deficit of GH¢2.4 billion must be resolved by any means possible and get it on its feet to save jobs and reap the other benefits.
We think this is the time the Bank of Ghana should come in with the needed expertise rather than pander to parochial interests.
