Accra, March 28, GNA- Mr Morgan Ayawine, the General Secretary of the Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union, has appealed to the government to fast-track the release of the locked-up funds to the rural and community banks.
The move, he said, would help the banks to prosecute their business and remain relevant in the banking sector of the economy.
This was in a statement by Mr Ayawine to the Ghana News Agency at the Northern and Upper East Regional Conferences of ICU-Ghana in Tamale and Bolgatanga.
The conferences are part of preparation towards ICU-Ghana’s 12th Quadrennial Delegate Conference in August, 2025.
He said the locked-up funds of the rural and community banks at Gold Coast Investments were a great concern, affecting the banks’ operations.
Mr Ayawine urged the government to put in place fiscal policies geared at supporting the rapid and sustainable growth of the rural and community banks.
“A classic example of such fiscal policy that militates against the ability of these banks to continue to effectively operate is the imposition of a 25 per cent corporate tax on their returns, which affects their growth, development and sustainability,” he said.
He called on the Bank of Ghana to take a second look at the 25 per cent corporate tax and reduce it to minimise its impact on the bank’s operations.
Mr Ayawine urged the government to urgently bail out PBC Plc to enable it to bounce back to operations.
He said the operations of PBC PLC had been seriously handicapped over the years due to a lack of funds to conduct its business, which is the buying of cocoa beans and shea nuts.
PBC Plc is one of the state-owned enterprises that is financially distressed and needs urgent resourcing to make it more viable and profitable.
He passionately appealed to the government to consider the construction of a dam at Pwalugu to serve the economic benefits of the people.
The initiative to construct the dam, in addition to existing dams in the Upper East Region, he stated, would aid and improve agricultural activities in the region.
Mr Ayawine said many industries and businesses had been left to go fallow, exacerbating the already precarious unemployment situation in the country.
“A typical example is the Pwalugu Tomato Factory in the Upper East Region, which has been abandoned over the years, whilst the indigenes of the region remain unemployed,” he said.
He called for a stakeholders collaboration to urgently address labour-related concerns to forestall unnecessary industrial actions at the workplace.
The General Secretary said, “Productivity suffers when there is no peace and harmony within the arena of labour relations.”
GNA
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