Former President John Dramani Mahama has expressed dissatisfaction with the management of the Ghana Exim bank under the Akufo-Addo administration.
According to John Dramani Mahama, the bank which was established under his regime with the aim of promoting export of Ghanaian businesses and creating jobs has, under the management of the current administration, neglected its core mandate. He said funds of the bank has been “flagrantly abused” on non-core activities to the neglect of the core activities of the bank.
The NDC’s presidential candidate for the 2020 elections is also unhappy over disbursement of funds of the bank stating that the disbursement of the funds lacks transparency.
“When I established the Ghana EXIM Bank in 2016, my dream was for the bank to promote exports and creates Jobs. I did not envisage the current lack of transparency in the disbursement and flagrant abuse of the funds of the bank on non-core activities to the neglect of many core and legitimate business plans, some from many hardworking young Ghanaians,” he said.
In September this year, Member of Parliament for Kumbungu Constituency, Ras Mubarak alleged at a Public Account Committee’s meeting that the Exim bank had paid musician Shatta Wale and actor, Agya Koo 2 million cedis and 250,000 cedis respectively for brand ambassadorial deal.
Though the bank admitted that it had contracted the two as brand ambassadors of its Made-In-Ghana 4P campaign to promote locally produced goods and services, it had not paid such amounts of money to Shatta Wale and Agya Koo.
The bank said in a statement that the allegation by the Kumbungu MP is “factually incorrect” and misleading. It, however, failed to disclose details of the contracts the bank had with the brand ambassadors.
But Mahama who was speaking in a meeting with Young Business Leaders and Entrepreneurs asserted that the contraction of brand ambassadors among others have led to the neglect of the bank’s core mandate of supporting and promoting Ghanaian businesses for export. It is also his view that the failure of the bank’s management to disclose the details of the contracts does not promote transparency.
Mr. Mahama said his government, if he is elected in the December Polls, will ensure that the operations of the bank are refocused on its core mandate of promoting Ghanaian businesses for exportation.
He added that the bank, under his regime, will fund agriculture and agribusinesses as well as the digitization of the economy and innovative skills acquisition in ICT.
“I will refocus the operations of the Exim Bank back to its core mandate of promoting Ghanaian businesses for export. The Exim Bank under my watch will, in addition to other funding streams, support agriculture and agribusinesses especially for both the domestic and export market through the creation of agro-production and processing zones in all major crop producing areas across the country. It will also support the digital economy and fund ICT innovation,” he pledged.
