Coronavirus: Banks’ loan repayment holiday not working – Hospitality Association

The National Hospitality Association of Ghana (NHAG) has said the moratorium on loan repayment announced by some banks to their customers due to the coronavirus pandemic is not working

According to NHAG’s Executive Secretary, Theodore Dzeble, the banks are being selective in implementing their own loan repayment holiday announcement, adding that members in the hospitality industry are not benefiting from the self-impose moratorium.

Banks such as Republic and Fidelity suspended loan repayments for about six months for their customers as a way of reducing the negative impact of the COVID-19 on them.

Speaking on Accra-based Joy FM about the difficulties the industry is going through amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr Dzeble called on the government to implement a raft of measures to bring relief to the members of NHAG.

The group wants taxes, levies and some mandatory charges suspended for hotels, restaurants, casinos and all businesses operating in the hospitality industry.

“Business activity in the sector has since deteriorated with the prospects of recovery becoming even more remote each week. Many restaurants and eateries are currently operating between 5 to 10 per cent of their total capacity. Indeed, some of our members have reported no business at all during this period, forcing them to, more or less, close down their business,” the association lamented in a statement.

It, therefore, called on the government to negotiate with the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) to pay 50% of the salaries of their employees over a period of six months as their businesses have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.