Expedite Action On Credit Union Bill

The Deputy Director of the Credit Unions Association (CUA), has appealed to the Bank of Ghana to expedite action on the Credit Union Bill for presentation to Parliament to create an enabling environment for credit unions.

Mr Fidelis B. Bazaanah, said the bill, when passed into law, would give CUA, a supervising regulatory body, the legal backing to regulate the operations of the various credit unions.

He made the call at the seventh Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Hydro Employees Credit Union of the Volta River Authority (VRA), which also coincided with the inauguration of an office complex for the union.

According to Mr Bazaanah, the environment in which credit unions were operating in 1968 when the Co-operative Act, NLCD 252, was passed to regulate co-operatives, including finance co-operatives, had been different from the current situation because it did not promote credit unions.

The deputy director expressed disappointment at the absence of a Credit Union Act and said that had undermined the ability of CUA to monitor and regulate the activities of some of the co-operatives, while others had persistently refused to affiliate with the association.

Mr Bazaanah commended the management and staff of the Hydro Credit Union for its hard work and commitment which, according to him, had enabled the union to take a lead in all performance indicators, including the registration of the highest membership, deposits and total assets, among other unions in the region.

He, therefore, urged the management to keep up the good work and guard against complacency “so that we can improve upon our service to our members and set good examples for others to emulate”.

Chairman of CUA, Mr Kenneth Sackeyfio, stated that the total assets of the union had increased from ¢10.2 billion in June 2005 to ¢15.9 billion in 2006, while members' savings balance as of June 2006 stood at ¢13.6 billion.

Mr Sackeyfio said the membership of the union had increased from 1,915 in July 2005 to 2,191 in June 2006 and said long-term loans granted to members during the period under review stood at ¢9.8 billion, while short- term loans amounted to ¢316 million.

The Eastern Regional Co-operative Officer, Mr Edmund A. Kissi, advised the new management to provide the needed exemplary leadership and initiate an effective internal control and monitory system to sustain the union.

Story by Nana Konadu Agyeman