The Bank of Ghana has declined a request seeking to extend the contract of the current Managing Director of ARB Apex Bank, Alex Kwasi Awuah.
This follows a request from the MD for a “ No Objection to Renewal of His Contract.”
Speaking in an interview with Joy Business, Bernard Otabil, Director of Communications at the Bank of Ghana, revealed that the Central Bank could not grant him the “No Objection” as requested.
Mr. Otabil explained that it has always been a practice for the Bank of Ghana’s management to express an opinion on key positions in the sector and other financial institutions under its regulation.
“And when this issue came up, the management of the Bank of Ghana expressed their opinion on the issue, and that has been clearly communicated to the Board of ARB Apex Bank,” the Director of Communications added.
According to the Board of the ARB Apex Bank, it has confirmed the receipt of the letter and everyone who matters on these issues has also been informed about the decision of the management of Bank of Ghana.”
The Director of Communication explained that the regulator always does these things, as part of its “fit and proper” procedure for institutions regulated by the Bank of Ghana, adding, “this should not be seen as any special situation.”
“This should be seen as a normal practice to give an opinion on these things when it comes to the extension of contracts of key heads of these institutions,” he added.
Background and Concerns of Workers
The workers of the ARB Apex Bank had in recent times, been impressing on the Bank of Ghana to immediately address what they describe as delays in confirming the contract extension of the Managing Director, Alex Kwasi Awuah.
The workers had argued that delays in taking action on this issue, could undermining confidence, affecting institutional stability, and risking disruptions within the rural banking ecosystem.
Some of the workers had even threatened to demonstrate and embark on an industrial action if the management of Bank of Ghana fails to extend the contract.