The Director-General of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Dr. Kodjo Esseim Mensah-Abrampa, has defended the government’s decision to set up a National Development Bank.
This development came about when President Nana Akufo-Addo as part of his official visit to Belgium met with the President of the European Investment Bank, Dr. Werner Hoyer. The Ministry of Finance and the European Investment Bank on 19th, May 2021, signed an agreement for a €170 million loan for the establishment of a National Development Bank-Ghana.
However, Ghanaians have kicked against this initiative arguing that it is a needless venture since there is the existence of the Agricultural Development Bank, National Investment Bank, and the Ghana Commercial Bank.
In an interview on Citi TV monitored closely by our reporter, the NDPC Boss defended the plan by the government, stating that it has always been a part of the government’s development plan for the country. “This has been there, it is part of our development plan and in the medium development plan, it is specific. It is there to support, particularly providing an avenue for assessing resources for, particularly the private sector so that they can engage in the development of infrastructure, industries which is a very big problem. A lot of contractors are given contracts and they find it difficult securing resources so this is a huge opportunity for us” he said.
He emphasized that “Industrial development is very keen if you want to engage in long-term development investment this is a big opportunity. Development bank can lend resources to other banks and it provides a single avenue to also attract investors who can also invest in these banks and through that, directly affect other development plans in the country”.
Dr. Mensah-Abrampa added that it was not wrong to acquire a loan for setting up the Bank. “The key thing is that because you are taking it over a range of a period and in certain volumes, the interest rate is relatively down, and if you are able to optimize your business accruements and to reduce cost, you should be able to make a lot of gains from it. There is nothing wrong with setting up this bank on a loan. Many of these other banks are set up on the same premise. Money doesn’t fall from anywhere. Money means that it’s coming from a source and one of the major sources for setting up a lot of these banks is taking credit from a certain source so that you can begin to also trade and then use that as a means to satisfy another”.
He called on Ghanaians to support the plan because it will contribute to the benefit of the nation.
Filed By: Agaatorne Douglas Asaah/Awakenewsroom.com
