ADB restores loans

aL-hAJJ’s exposé yields results again

-Cancels retrenchment, to employ 300

The issue of the ADB staff loan, one of the most contentious issues raised by The aL-hAJJ in our exposés over the past few weeks seems to have been resolved; sources close to the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) management and staff of the bank have told this paper on condition of anonymity.

In another victory for the workers of the ADB, the bank has also agreed to abandon the earlier decision to retrench several hundreds of its experienced workers only to pave way for fresh graduates to be recruited.

The initial decision to sack the experienced workers was to cut cost on salaries and other allowances given that demands from the newly recruited staff would by far be lower than those of their counterparts who have spent many years working at the bank and would demand more on their services.

Sources have revealed that the ADB management at a crunch meeting recently have acquiesce to the incessant demands from the workers to restore the staff loan which was ostensibly suspended because of the bank’s increasing liquidity challenges. The bank, The aL-hAJJ has also gathered at the said meeting a decision was taken to cancel the intended retrenchment of the staff. The bank has however, confirmed the recruitment of 300 new hands mostly, university graduates and advertshave been running in the dailies since Monday, October 27, 2014.

A source familiar with the arrangements disclosed to the paper on condition of anonymity that the restoration of the staff loan became necessary because the bank’s hitherto liquidity problems are improving and therefore there is no need to maintain the suspension on the loans, which has been one of the sticking points in the relations between the management of the bank and the workers.

“The measure was itself a temporary one, so there is the need to restore it, especially now that the situation has improved dramatically.

“As am talking to you, it is just a matter of few weeks or even days before we will announce to the staff that we have lifted the ban on their loans, including car and housing loans so that there will be the industrial harmony that we all desire for a smooth running of the bank,” the source said on condition of anonymity adding, “we are by next month (November) going to employ more hands to augment our expansion drive,” the source said on condition of anonymity.

In our earlier publications, this paper quoted a recent internal memo issued by the management that says, “management wishes to bring to the attention of all staff that, the bank is currently constrained on two key elements of its financial performance indices, namely capital adequacy and liquidity ratios, and has therefore been compelled to take urgent steps to ensure the stability of the bank.”

“In view of these constrains, it has become necessary to suspend the granting of all staff loans. This is being done as part of the general measures to manage the bank’s total loan book, in order to improve these key aspects of the bank’s risk profile.

“As the bank prepares for listing on the Ghana Stock Exchange, it is necessary to ensure that these critical ratios are improved significantly, in order to attract the required market response.

“We shall continue to monitor the situation regularly and resume the granting of staff loans when we record an appreciable level of improvement in these key ratios,” the memo concluded.

The memo was jointly authored by Executive Director, Human Resource, AkwelleyAdoleyBulley and the Managing Director of the bank, Mr. Stephen Kpordzih.

This memo attracted the anger of the workers who have sworn to teach the management of the bank some lessons if the suspension of the welfare facility was allowed to drag. However, in a dramatic turnaround, the management of the bank agreed to restore the loans to provide succor for the suffering workers of the bank.