The Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, has challenged the Governing Council of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, Ghana (CIBG) to strive to ensure that the country’s banking sector becomes globally competitive.
In the institute’s pursuit of higher banking services in the country, he said, it must endeavour to shine beyond the shores of the country and rub shoulders with its peers worldwide.
“You need to put in place prudent strategies and measures to make you competitive not just in Africa but the other parts of the world by adopting global best practices,” he said when he inaugurated a 11- member Governing Council for the Institute in Accra on Friday.
Dr Adutwum urged the Council headed by, Mr Benjamin Kwabla Amenumey, to help shape the future of banking in the country, develop human capital for the country as well as lead the country on economic growth.
Recounting how the sector was hit by a major crisis in the past and how the government had revamped it, he urged bankers in the country to offer the best they could to improve the quality of banking.
“You cannot improve the quality of service if those at the helm of affairs do not have the right capacity,” he said.
Dr Adutwum implored bankers to consider recruiting brilliant Senior High School graduates into the banking industry instead of only recruiting university graduates since there were many talents in that space too.
The Chairman of the Governing Council, Mr Amenumey, in his acceptance speech, lauded President Nana Akufo Addo for the trust reposed in them to serve the council.
He stated that the CIBG has been strategically positioned to provide the much-needed support to the financial service sector, especially the banking industry to contend with the multiple challenges occasioned by regulation, competition, disruptive models and technologies as well as the skill sets and competencies required by practitioners to deliver the required results by banks.
He said the inauguration would enhance the Institute’s mandate to promote the study of banking and regulate the practices of the banking profession in Ghana and beyond as mandated by the Chartered Institute of Bankers Ghana Act, 2019 (Act 991).
Mr Amenumey assured the government that the new council was determined to continue to develop ethical and professional bankers to support the growth of the banking sector.
He explained that all the members of the councils would bring out their diverse expertise in the sector to bear to forge ahead to build on the noble achievement and legacies of their predecessors by pursuing initiatives that would propel the institute forward to even greater heights.
The Director in charge of General Administration, Education Ministry, Mrs Catherine Appiah-Pinkrah, asked the body to help develop the competencies and qualifications of its members so they would be able to offer efficient and competitive service to the constantly changing customer needs.
