Best Time for Growth of Rural Banks Is Now - Regional Minister (Ue/R)

The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Rockson Ayine Bukari has stated that there is no better time than now for the survival and operation of rural banks in Ghana.

He added that the Nana Addo-led government has already given the clearest indication that the private sector will be the major partner in development and job creation and that every effort will be made to create the enabling environment for the sector to flourish.

In a speech read for him by the Upper East Regional Coordinating Director, Alhaji Abdulai Abubakar at the 26th Annual General Meeting [AGM] of the Naara Rural Bank [NRB] held in Navrongo at the weekend, the Regional Minister further stated that in achieving the goal of making the private sector thrive, government was working hard to restore the macroeconomic stability of the country while moving from taxation to production as a means of expanding Ghana's economy.

He noted that the initial efforts had begun yielding positive results as seen in the recent reductions in the monetary policy rate from 25.5 percent to 23.5 percent and inflation dropping to 12.8 percent, the lowest in nearly a decade.

Mr Bukari also observed that a host of taxes christened as "nuisance taxes" which had low yielding potentials to government but yet imposed a significant burden on the private sector and the average Ghanaian, have also been scrapped. One such tax is the 17.5 percent VAT/NHIL on financial services which for instance has been replaced with a flat rate of 3%.

The Regional Minister entreated the Management of the bank to position itself effectively to partner government in its flagship "one district, one factory" programme hinting that some other banks had already submitted some proposals to help in the implementation process.

He noted that the AGM will continue to be one of the high points of the bank's success because it offers the shareholders an opportunity to interface directly with the Board and Management of NRB to discuss the prudent use of their investments as well as chart the best way forward for the bank in the coming years. He charged the Management of the bank to intensify its financial literacy efforts in all its areas of operation as this will boost their loan recovery portfolio else, a high defaulting rate will shake the financial base of the bank.

Board Chairman of the Naara Rural Bank, Mr Kweku Ananga in his report said though the bank operated in a challenging economic environment during the period 2014-2015, it recorded significant improvements in some key performance indicators.

Its Total Assets appreciated from GH¢22,023,188.00 in 2014 to GH¢26,290,070.00 in 2015 whilst Deposits also rose from the 2014 figure of GH¢16,713,769.00 to GH¢20,471,422.00 in 2015.

According to the Board Chairman, the Bank's Investments Short-Term also went up from GH¢2,045,300.00 in 2014 to GH¢4,900,000.00 in 2015 while its Share Capital moved from GH¢488,758.00 in 2014 to GH¢495,452.00 in 2015.

He revealed that, it was however the bank's Net Profit after Tax that declined to GH¢859,193.00 in 2015 from the previous year's figure of GH¢940,699.00. He also disclosed that his bank's net worth increased from GH¢3,530,614 in 2014 to GH¢4,336,496.00 by close of 2015.

Mr Ananga told the shareholders that in line with the bank's five-year strategic plan to increase deposits, the Board opened two new agency offices at Pelungu and Tongo. This now puts the total number of branches at seven including the other agencies at Paga, Chiana, Navrongo, Sirigu and Bolgatanga. He revealed that the Sirigu Agency would soon be relocated into a modern banking facility, constructed as a permanent banking hall for that area's operations of the bank.

According to him, the NRB also lived up to its corporate social responsibilities during the period under review as it spent 11,076.00 Ghana Cedis on education, health, agriculture and social activities within its operational areas. For instance, 3,481.00 Ghana Cedis went into the area of education while over 2,000.00 Ghana was spent on health.

Source: ISD (PETER ATOGEWE WEDAM, DIO)

Read Full Story