SADA will not operate a commercial bank- CEO clarifies

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June 29, 2016 10:24 AM

The Authority has come under immense scrutiny lately over some financial transactions, debt and questionable dealings exposed by the Auditor General’s latest report on the Authority, as well as parliament’s approval for SADA to operate a bank.

Chief Executive Officer of the Savannah Accelerated Development(SADA) has sought to clarify the notion that the proposed SADA Bank will operate as a commercial bank, which will not conform with SADA’s mandate of accelerating development in the north.

Some development experts and anti-corruption campaigners have heavily criticised the move, saying SADA does not have the mandate to operate a bank, and cannot be trusted with such an operation given the Authority’s controversial financial history.

Reacting to these comments, CEO of SADA, Charles Abugre said the SADA bank will not operate as a commercial bank, neither will it receive deposits from customers. It will be a facilitator of the Agricultural sector in the Northern part of the country.

“We are proposing an institution that is not a commercial bank….that is not a deposit taker. That means, it has to find its capital from somewhere. What is the source of this capital? It is long-term capital from external capital markets like money from the IFC and other areas, which are usually raised over a medium to long term basis.”

Mr. Abugri added that the SADA Bank will then disburse these monies to farmers who need it as soft loans for their farming activities.

“Here is an institution that will raise long-term capital and then on, lend these monies to commercial banks that will then support activities of farmers in the North.”

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