RURAL BANKS MUST STREAMLINE OPERATIONS (PAGE 39, DEC 29)

THE Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, Mrs Lucy Awuni, has called on rural and community banks to streamline their operations to favour rural customers.
She said much as the rules and regulations governing the rural banks should be upheld, management also ought to be flexible in their dealings with their rural clients.
At the opening of the Bongo Rural Bank in the Upper East Region, Mrs Awuni urged the bank to take particular note of the peculiar circumstances of the area where the greater majority of the customers lived and design an appropriate product, which, she said, would encourage them to save regularly.
In situations suah as this, banking institutions should not just be concerned with providing traditional banking services, but should play a lead role in the general socio-economic development of the people," the deputy regional minister said.
The opening of the bank brings to five the number of rural banks operating in the region. The opening of the bank was mooted by the district assembly as far back as 2002 and by dint of hard work and through the many challenges that confronted the promoters, the bank is now operational.
Mrs Awuni, while commending the district assembly and the promoters who contributed in diverse ways towards the establishment of the facility, urged the people of Bongo to contribute towards the sustenance of the bank by investing in the shares of the bank.
The Interim Board Chairman of the bank, Mr Joachim Akuure, stated that it had been the desire of the bank since 2002 to have banking services on the doorstep of the people.
He recounted some of the challenges that came their way and commended the district assembly, the traditional authorities and citizens of Bongo for supporting the idea.
The President of the North Eastern Chapter of Association of Rural Banks, Mr John Asabigi, urged management and staff of the Bongo Rural Bank to study the Bank of Ghana regulations and comply with the directives to avoid sanctions. He also called on the management to report accurately and timely to bodies that legitimately required such information.
Mr Phillip Cobinnah, Assistant Director, Banking Supervision Department of the Bank of Ghana, appealed to opinion leaders to educate their people on the need to promptly repay loans that were advanced to them to save the bank from collapse.
The District Chief Executive for Bongo, Mr Clement Akugre, said the inauguration of the bank would no doubt have a great impact on the local economy in particular and the region as a whole.
He said apart rendering services in the form of granting loans for the enhancement of the small and medium scale enterprises to expand their businesses, the opening of the new branches would reduce the man-hours that were lost by workers through travelling to the regional capital to access banking services.
"The man-hours gained as a result of the establishment of the bank would undoubtedly contribute in no small measure towards the accelerated growth of the district," he said.