Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, the Global President of Groupe Nduom, has requested John Dramani Mahama, the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), to reinstate GN Bank’s license if Mahama wins the upcoming December 7 elections in Ghana.
GN Bank, which operated a network of 300 branches across the country, had its license revoked by the Bank of Ghana in August 2019 as part of a broader banking sector cleanup initiated by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government.
During a meeting in Accra on Friday, July 19, Nduom expressed deep concern over the impact of GN Bank’s closure on employment and the economy. He emphasized the importance of restoring the bank’s operations to revive jobs and contribute positively to Ghana’s economic landscape.
“We believe that if this administration doesn’t give us our license before they leave and start paying the money before they leave, the next one will understand the situation and return the license.
So we are continuing with the hope and preparing and working our plans with the hope that, at some point, we will get the license back and bring the jobs back. Because it is the jobs we are also looking for,” Nduom stated.
John Dramani Mahama criticized the NPP government’s decision to revoke licenses of indigenous financial institutions during the 2019 banking sector cleanup, describing it as hastily executed.
He intended to initiate an independent review of the cleanup process if elected. “The government was hasty in what it did. If you look at the criteria used, it doesn’t fit. It was not a one-size-fits-all approach. I mean, it was just like different rules for different folks, and so, yes, as you said, many of these banks had also financed government suppliers and contractors, and the government owed them, and they owed the banks,” Mahama commented.
Mahama further pledged to restore the capital of Indigenous businesses in the financial sector, advocating for an impartial assessment of the banking sector cleanup to rectify unjustifiable actions and potentially reinstate licenses of affected banks.
The petition by Groupe Nduom underscores ongoing debates over the banking sector’s regulatory environment in Ghana, highlighting the economic implications of policy decisions on local businesses and employment.
