The CEO of BESSFA Rural Bank, Alhaji Hayatudeen Awudu, who also serves as the President of the National Association of Rural and Community Banks (RCBs) CEOs in Ghana, has responded to statements made by the Upper East Regional Director of the Electoral Commission, Mr. William Obeng Adarkwa, which he describes as “palpable lies” against RCBs in the Upper East Region and country at large. Apexnewsgh reports
On Monday, May 6, 2024, Mr. Adarkwa was quoted in an article published by Apexnewsgh.com, stating that the rural banking system in the region is underdeveloped and that Apex Bank, the mother bank of RCBs, faces challenges in confirming the existence of some rural banks due to networking issues. He further claimed that this affects the payment of allowances to individual applicants.
The above pronouncement has not gone well with President of the National Association of Rural and Community Banks (RCBs) Alhaji Awudu.
However, responding to pronouncement Alhaji Awudu expressed strong disagreement with Mr. Adarkwa’s statements, which he believes are misleading and damaging to the reputation of RCBs.
He emphasized that RCBs play a vital role in promoting financial inclusion and providing essential banking services to rural communities.
Following the Upper East EC boss statement against the RCBs, the National President has further called for accurate and fair representation of the rural banking system, highlighting the significant contributions of RCBs to the region’s economic development.
He further urged the Electoral Commission to refrain from making unfounded claims that could undermine the trust and confidence of the public in RCBs.
Alhaji Hayatudeen Awudu raised three key concerns regarding Mr. Adarkwa’s statements:
Firstly, he disputed the claim that the rural banking system in the region is underdeveloped, stating that all five RCBs in the region are in good standing with their licenses intact and have been operating for many years without any challenges.
Secondly, he challenged the assertion that traditional banks are better networked, making it easier to receive payments promptly. He pointed out that the five RCBs in the region are fully computerized and networked, and have been participating in electronic payment systems without any challenges.
Thirdly, he expressed concern over Mr. Adarkwa’s advice to applicants to use popular banks to ensure timely payment of allowances, which he sees as an attempt to discredit RCBs and promote other banks.
The National President assured clients of the five RCBs in the region that they can confidently provide their account details to the EC for the upcoming exercise, and assured them of timely payment of allowances.
Below are Alhaji Hayatudeen Awudu’s response:
First Concern
“Mr. Adarkwa explained the issue, stating that the challenges lies with the rural banking system in the Region” (paragraph 2).
“According to Mr. Adarkwa, the rural banking system is not well developed, and the Apex Bank, the mother bank, faces difficulties in confirming or denying the existence of some rural banks”.
Response
The above statement from Mr. Adarkwa is a complete falsehood.
We have five Rural and Community Banks (RCBs) in the Region and all of them are in good standing with their licenses intact as issued by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) being intact. 2 of the RCBs have been in existence for more than 40 years each and the remaining 3 have been operating for more than 15 years now without any challenges.
None of the RCBs in the Region is facing difficulties as peddled by Mr. Adarkwa.
The 5 RCBs in the regions cumulatively have about 21 Branches operating in the various towns and Districts in the Region and beyond. All the Branches are opened to customers on a daily basis for banking services and so his claim that the ARB Apex Bank faces difficulties confirming or denying the existence of these RCBs is with the greatest of respect a palpable falsehood.
Second Concern
“This leads to challenges in sending payments to these banks [RCBs], and sometimes, applicants’ account details may be incorrect or incomplete. He emphasized that traditional banks are better networked, making it easier to receive payments promptly”
Response
Since when did Mr. Adarkwa became the Marketing Officer of the “traditional banks”?
Is he suggesting that account holders of the “traditional banks” cannot submit incomplete or incorrect account details or is it the case that when an account holder of “traditional banks” submit incorrect or incomplete account details the EC can still proceed to pay them?
The 5 RCBs in the Region are fully computerized and networked for more than a decade now. All of them are participating in almost all the electronic payment systems in the country without any challenges whatsoever.
It is a matter of record that the 5 RCBs in the Region have been the source through which most of the temporary workers of the EC have been receiving their allowances over the past 20 years.
Indeed, the 5 RCBs in the Region, in the past couple of weeks, received and successfully paid, without any challenges, the allowances of the temporary workers of the EC that were engaged during the District Assembly and Unit Committee Elections last year.
It will interest you to know that some of the permanent employees of the EC draw their monthly salaries from these RCBs.
Therefore Mr. Adarkwa’s assertion is either made out of ignorance of the immense services the RCBs in the Region are providing to temporary workers of the EC or it was a deliberate and calculated attempt at making the RCBs look bad in the eyes of its cherished clients which is very unfortunate.
Third Concern
“He explained that during the training session, he advised applicants to use popular banks to ensure timely payment of allowances. The EC boss emphasized that the challenge is not unique to the EC but also affects Apex bank, which is the mother bank across the country”
Response
The ARB Apex Bank, which is a mini–Central Bank to the RCB Industry, has never stated anywhere that it has any challenges with the RCBs in the Region.
The above statement clearly shows that the EC Boss in the Region perhaps has an interest in his so-called “popular banks” for which he will use his high office to advise all the applicants to use their accounts which is very unfortunate.
We wish to reiterate our stand that the 5 RCBs in the region are in good standing with the BoG and the ARB Apex Bank.
We called on our cherished clients/account holders to feel free and provide their account details to the EC for the upcoming exercise.
As we have done in the past, we assure them of getting their allowances paid in good time anytime the EC releases the said funds to the Banks.
Thank you
Source: Apexnewsgh.com
Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0256336062/0248250270.
