NABCO Is Cure For 1000s of Job Losses in Banking Sector-Ken Ofori Atta

Finance Minister has sparked serious contention by suggesting that the Nation Builders’ Corps (NABCO) can defray the effects of thousands of jobs lost in the Ghanaian banking sector after the controversial reforms in the sector,

At the last check, over 350 banks, Financial Institutions and Savings and Loans companies have been forced to close shop and thousands of staff have been rendered jobless.

 However, in an interview with Accra-based Citi TV on Wednesday night, the Finance Minister claimed, the 100,000 jobless graduates employed under the NABCO low-pay scheme have rectified the effects of the unprecedented job losses the Ghanaian banking sector.

“What do I say to that? In the same way you say we’ve lost some two to three thousand jobs,…the same way you can say they created 100,000 jobs in NABCO. Now, that is something that has never been done in our history [Creation of NABCO],” Mr. Ofori-Atta stated.

“Yes, it is true [that thousands have lost their jobs in the banking sector] and our hope is that we create jobs to absorb those [jobless bankers],” he said, as he admitted that the Akufo Addo administration may have made some mistakes in the banking reforms.

“It couldn’t be with the level of GHC 12 or GHC15 billion odd financing to restructure the banking sector, that we wouldn’t have made some mistakes and or have some collateral damage with people,” said the Finance Minister.

His statement generated instant angst on social media, with some commentators harshly rebuking his perception of the effects of the banking sector job losses.

One commentator on CITI TV page said: “This man is wicked, how can you be comparing NABCO to the bank jobs, why didn’t you save the jobs rather?

Another offered:  “Ken, you are a real joke to compare the salaries of bankers to the GHC 700 NABCO is offering.”

Critics and experts have chastised the government for the high-handed approach to the banking reforms. For instance, the President of the now-defunct UT Bank, Prince Kofi Amoabeng recently criticised the Rambo-styled takeover of banks perceived to be distressed by the Akufo Addo government and the Bank of Ghana. According to Mr. Amoabeng who recently blamed the Bank of Ghana for deliberately chasing off investors willing to inject capital into UT Bank, the excesses of the government could have been avoided to save some jobs in the seven collapsed banks and hundreds of non-bank financial institutions.