Benjamin Nsiah, the Executive Director of the Centre for Environmental Management
Benjamin Nsiah, the Executive Director of the Centre for Environmental Management, has spoken out, claiming that the banking sector cleanup lacked transparency, truth, and sincerity.
According to Nsiah, those who managed the cleanup weren’t candid about the process.
He lamented that the collapse and subsequent cleanup of the banking sector were built on a foundation of lies, which ultimately undermined the entire industry.
Nsiah believes that Ghana lost a significant amount of money during this process—money that could have been invested in the energy sector to tackle its ongoing challenges.
Speaking on the radio programme “Frontline” on Rainbow Radio 87.5Fm, he reiterated that the cleanup was built on a “bed of lies,” which led to the massive financial losses.
“Our energy sector is burdened with debt. We can’t transform or modernize it,” Nsiah said.
“We’re in a crisis, and if we’re not careful, the sector won’t evolve for years because of these debt issues and lack of modernization. If we can gather money for this cleanup, even though the reasons for the collapse weren’t justifiable, then we have caused financial loss to the state.”
To address this, Nsiah is proposing a thorough investigation into the matter.
He insists that everyone involved in creating this mess should be prosecuted and punished to set a precedent and deter others from similar actions.
He stressed that if even a portion of the money lost in the banking sector had been allocated to the energy sector, Ghanaians would not have been forced to pay the energy sector levy.
“We need to probe and prosecute everyone involved in the banking sector collapse,” he concluded. “Those who deserve to be jailed should be, to serve as a deterrent.”
He added that the data inconsistencies surrounding the collapse of the banks is alarming and unfortunate.
“I have said it before, and I will repeat it here: The reason Ghanaians are paying the dumsor or d-levy is due to the banking sector crisis.
“The funds allocated for the banking sector crisis were wasted, and as a result, we have not made significant progress. Had we allocated those funds to the energy sector, we would have paid off a portion of the sector’s debts.”