Highly financial literate populace leads to robust economy - John Awuah

The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Association of Banks (GAB), John Awuah, has stated that a country whose citizens are financially literate, leads to a robust economic system.

He indicated that individuals in a country who have in-depth knowledge and possess skills in managing finances, tend to make good financial decisions, resulting in a resilient financial system.

To this effect, he reiterated the essence of education on basic financial concepts such as budgeting, saving, investment and others among citizens.

He made these comments at the launch of the Financial Literacy Month Campaign 2023 themed: “Rethinking personal financial planning in uncertain times, and for sustainable growth”.

Financial literacy is the ability to understand and effectively use various financial skills, including personal financial management, budgeting, and investing.

A report from a Standard and Poor’s on global financial literacy on the financial literacy suggests that the 10 most financial literate countries include Denmark, Norway, and Sweden with 71 percent each, Israel follows with 68 percent, the United Kingdom with 67 percent, Germany and Netherlands with 66 percent each, Australia with 64 percent and Finland with 63 percent.

Africa scored the worst of all the continents, with Ghana scoring 32 percent financial literacy rate. Only Botswana, breaks the 50 percent barrier, with more African countries falling within the range 31 percent to 40 percent. The worst country for financial literacy on the entire continent is Somalia at 15 percent.

Prior to the commencement of the programme, Chief Executive Officer of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, Robert Dzato, in his opening address, emphasised the essence of being responsible in repayment of debt after borrowing from banks or taking credit from telecommunication firms.

“It’s important to pay attention to our responsibility in not just borrowing but paying back. Today people have taken credits on their mobile phones and afterwards, throw the chip away,” he said

As an official, who in 2017 -2019, assisted the central bank in the banking cleanup, he recounted some of the problems that were identified, notable among which are lack of financial literacy, irresponsibility and lack of ethics.

He added that it is imperative to take the conversation on financial education beyond the individual stage, and extend it to the organizational level, and certainly the national level.

In his introductory remarks, the Executive Director of Centre for Financial Literacy Education (CFLE) Africa, Peter Kwadwo Asare Nyarko, said he is confident that through with stakeholders like the Ministry of Finance, Bank of Ghana, Securities and Exchange Commission, the financial habits of Ghanaians can be changed.

He added that with a common voice, the standard of living of workers and pensioners will be improved.

Launch of the financial literacy month campaign

As part of efforts to significantly improve financial awareness and financial literacy in the country, CFLE Africa has launched its financial literacy campaign 2023.

Speaking on how the campaign is used to create awareness every April, Mr. Nyarko mentioned outreach programmes and promotion of financial literacy on media platforms – both the traditional and online.

According to Mr. Nyarko, the beneficiaries of financial literacy and financial education cut across all levels – children, teens, young professionals, business individuals, traders and entrepreneurs.

The launch brought together experts in the financial sector including investment, insurance, pensions and banking space.