Bank managers forced to become Uber drivers due to BOG's actions - Ablakwa reveals

Gideon Nicholas Day

October 5, 2023 9:19 AM

Member of Parliament for North Tongu Constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has disclosed that seasoned financial experts have been compelled to become Uber drivers following the collapse of certain banks orchestrated by the Bank of Ghana (BOG).

Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa

In an interview with Accra-based Tv3, Ablakwa voiced his concerns, attributing the dire situation to the actions of the Governor of the Bank of Ghana.

He lamented, "I have colleagues who were top bank managers in various financial institutions and who are now behind the wheel of Uber cars. Some are even unemployed. Fifty thousand people have lost their jobs due to the recklessness of the Governor."

Furthermore, Ablakwa asserted that the BOG's actions had not only led to unemployment but also forced businesses to shut down, pushing approximately 850,000 people into poverty, according to the World Bank's assessment.

In response to the Governor's dismissal of their #OccupyBOG Protest as unnecessary and hooliganism, Ablakwa urged the Governor to express remorse and issue an apology to the affected Ghanaians instead of resorting to insults.

"If this Governor has the courage to speak, he should not be defiant but apologetic to plead with the Ghanaian people. Instead, he is insulting us, labeling us hooligans and uncivilized people for participating in demonstrations. Is he aware that his boss rose to fame based on demonstrations? Then he is also calling President Akufo Addo a hooligan," he added.

The #OccupyBOG Protest, orchestrated by the Minority in Parliament on Tuesday, October 3, 2023, aimed to demand the resignation of the BOG Governor and his deputies, citing alleged mismanagement of the Central Bank.

Over the past two years, the Central Bank, under the Akufo-Addo administration, has revoked the licenses of numerous banks, microfinance companies, and savings and loans companies.

The financial sector cleanup, initiated in August 2017, has resulted in the collapse of nine universal banks, 347 microfinance companies, 39 microcredit companies or money lenders, 15 savings and loans companies, eight finance house companies, and two non-bank financial institutions.

Gideon Nicholas Day