Barclays objects to levy

Barclays Bank of Ghana Limited on Monday expressed its misgivings about the 15 per cent National Development Levy imposed on the banks, reports the Ghanaian Times. It described the government's action as "going a bit too far".

According to the Bank, the Levy, in its present form, would affect the liquidity of the banks and their ability to lend to the private sector.

In an address at a reception for Barclays African Executives in Accra, Nana Wereko-Ampem, chairman, Barclays Ghana said that the levy instituted for a period of three years, when one of the government's aims was to reduce the large national deficit and to bring interest down, "appears to be going too far".

He noted that although the problems facing the country demanded sacrifices from all to solve, in "removing those imbalances, we should make sure that we do not do so at the expense of others". Nana Wereko-Ampem called for consultations to take place to find a compromise solution so that "we do not end up eating the goose that lays the golden eggs".