The CEO of Mikaddo Holdings and Founder of KAMA Group of Companies, Nana Dr. Michael Agyekum Addo, has opened up about the financial struggles he has encountered since the banking sector clean-up.

Speaking at a book launch held at Academic City College in Accra on March 28, he disclosed how his retirement savings, amassed over three decades, were impacted by the clean-up, leaving him unable to back valued initiatives like the book launch.

"I am a pensioner and all my money, I must confess, the money that I saved to take care of my pension has been taken over by the banking clean-up.

"So, I don't have the money to support such a wonderful book. And if I tell you how much I saved for over 30 years to take care of my position now, you will weep for me,” he said.

Dr. Addo also detailed the operational challenges his pharmaceutical manufacturing company in Tema, one of the city's foremost, faced due to frozen funds resulting from the clean-up. This financial strain, he explained, has escalated overhead expenses, compounded by pressures from tax agencies and utility providers.

"One of the best pharmaceutical manufacturing companies, WHO standard, in Tema; because my money has been locked up and they cannot give it to me, I'm having problems with my overheads. I'm telling you, either GRA is on your neck or the ECG has come to put off your light,” he shared.

His narrative sheds light on the wider repercussions of the banking sector clean-up on individuals and enterprises nationwide.

What led to this?

In 2017, the Ghanaian government, led by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, initiated a comprehensive restructuring of the banking sector.

This initiative saw the consolidation of banks from 34 to 23 and the revocation of licenses for 347 microfinance institutions, 15 savings and loans companies, and eight finance houses due to governance issues.

The state's intervention in this process, excluding interest payments, was estimated at GH¢16.4 billion from 2017 to 2019.

However, by 2020, the government reported that the total expenditure on the banking sector clean-up had risen to around GH¢21 billion.

Numerous financial institutions affected by the license revocations have contested the government's actions in court, and legal proceedings regarding these matters are ongoing.