Church suggests floating of GCB's shares

Winneba, July 11, GNA - The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church has suggested to the government to float, as a matter of national interest, 20 per cent of its 46 shares in the Ghana Commercial Bank for workers, churches and other interested organizations to buy as was done by the previous government to the Ashanti Goldfields Corporation some years back.

According to the Church, this would enable the government to mobilize adequate funds to effect the necessary technical changes it wants to carryout at the Ghana Commercial Bank without necessarily divesting it.

It maintained that the floating of the shares would enable organisation like, the Trades Union Congress, (TUC), the Ghana National Association of Teachers and various religious organisations to mobilise buyers from their outfits to purchase the shares and provide the much needed financial resources to meet the request of the government. The suggestion was mooted by leaders of the AME Zion Church operating within the Winneba circuit of the Church at their annual review conference currently taking place at the ChristMemorial Zion Church in Winneba.

The conference, which was opened by the Senior Bishop's Deputy, the Right Reverend Dr. Godfred Zormelo also called on the government to foster closer relationship with other political parties, particularly the National Democratic Congress (NDC), to enhance national cohesion and progress at all levels.

Participants were of the collective opinion that the time has come for Ghanaians to shift from partisanship and develop a new and stronger political culture that would give priority consideration to team work in all spheres of national endeavour, so as to realise the objective of our dreams about nation building.

In his opening, address, Rt. Rev. Dr Zormelo expressed fear that the proposed sale of government share in the Ghana Commercial Bank might seriously affect the operations of the various rural and community banks, which have been working in concert to meet financial requirements of the rural people.

It would also underrate, the ability of Ghanaians financial experts to handle the affairs of the only leading banking institution in the country, and make foreign financial administrators superiors over their local counterparts.

Rt. Rev Dr Zormelo charged all branch leaders of the Church to initiate permanent fortnightly clean-up programmes to support the district and municipal assemblies in their bid to protect the people they serve against preventable diseases.