Dr. Mark Assibey Yeboah, former Chairman of Parliament’s Finance Committee, has dismissed former President John Dramani Mahama‘s promise to revive collapsed banks as unrealistic and burdensome.
Mr Mahama, the 2024 flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), recently reaffirmed his commitment to restoring financial institutions that were shut down during the banking sector reforms.
He argued that this move would stabilise the financial sector and restore public confidence.
Mr Mahama highlighted the need for a comprehensive and unbiased assessment to bring these banks back into operation, linking the initiative to tackling Ghana’s rising unemployment rate.
He called on Ghanaians to rally behind him in the 2024 elections to rejuvenate the struggling economy.
However, Dr. Assibey Yeboah dismissed this pledge as a “joke”, questioning the feasibility of Mahama’s plan in light of the challenges that led to the financial sector reforms in the first place.
Dr. Yeboah defended the banking sector clean-up, stating that it was crucial for stabilising the financial system, which had been plagued by insolvency, mismanagement, and regulatory breaches.
He argued that Mahama’s promise was politically motivated, accusing the former president of attempting to undermine a necessary intervention that protected depositors and restored confidence in the sector.
According to him, reinstating the insolvent banks would undermine the progress made in financial stability and set a dangerous precedent for future management of the sector.
Furthermore, Dr. Yeboah highlighted the severe regulatory violations, including capital inadequacies and fraudulent practices, that led to the closure of several institutions.
He emphasised that any attempt to reverse the clean-up would be detrimental to the financial system, rewarding institutions that failed to comply with financial management standards.
He also criticised Mahama’s leadership on financial matters during his presidency, pointing out that his administration failed to address the sector’s weaknesses, which ultimately contributed to the crisis that necessitated the reforms.
Dr. Assibey Yeboah argued that Mahama’s promise was a populist move aimed at gaining votes rather than a practical solution.
He urged Ghanaians to consider the long-term consequences of reversing the banking reforms, insisting that the clean-up was a necessary measure for the future stability of the nation’s financial sector.
“That is a joke. How are they going to do it? Let’s take that in the unlikely event that he wins the forthcoming election and is sworn in on January 7 and on January 8, he will call Unibank that they should come for their license? Where is the bank? The bank is gone. So would they be holding the license and be walking about that they’ve given me my license? It’s a joke,” he said.
He said this during an interview on Asempa FM on Wednesday, September 25, 2024.
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