Accra, May 8, GNA – Prudential Bank, as part of its contribution towards fighting the COVID-19, has supported the Ghanaian hospitality industry with some Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) worth GHC50,000
The PPE, which were presented through the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), included 825 boxes of sanitizers, 360 packs of tissue towels, 1,320 boxes of liquid soap, 1,000 packs of reusable nose mask, and 1,000 pieces of veronica buckets.
Mr Thomas Broni, the Executive Head of Operations, Prudential Bank, said as a truly indigenous bank, it understood the Ghanaian terrain more than any bank hence thought it wise to support the hospitality industry.
He said the Bank, from afar, had seen the efforts of the GTA to support the indigenous sector and, therefore, the need them to support it so together they could all overcome COVID-19, which was affecting businesses.
Mr Broni said as a financial institution they had been hit by the pandemic because there were costs they did not plan for but that should not deter them from supporting when the need arose.
“In the midst of every challenge there are opportunities, either to be creative, to look at different ways of doing things and as a bank we are also looking at some of these opportunities so that the negative impact would not cripple the progress made,” he said.
Mr Akwesi Agyemang, the Chief Executive Officer, GTA, who received the items, thanked the Bank for the benevolence noting that the industry was one of the hardest hit by the pandemic due to the directive on public gathering and travelling among others.
He said as such stakeholders in the industry have been engaging corporate partners to find ways to support government measures to mitigate the circumstances for operators
He said the Prudential Bank had responded to their plight through the donation to mitigate the impact on the industry.
Speaking on the stimulus package for the sector, Mr Agyemang said they had engaged with the National Board for Small Scale Industries who were administering the 600 million cedis package.
“We are holding discussion with Ghana Tourism Federation (GHATOF) to look at guidelines and modalities for members to benefit from the package,” he said.
He said there is also a World Bank project through the Ministry of Tourism, which had a grant component, and was being fast tracked to meet some of the challenges like staff salaries.
“We have also met with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who also indicated that the commercial banks are working on the three billion cedi facility,” he said.
Madam Bella Ahu, the President of GHATOF, thanked the Bank for the support saying it was a sign of its thoughtfulness for the industry.
GNA