'Nobody should create the impression that a credit score system is some magic wand' – Dr. Abbey

Broadcaster Dr. Randy Abbey has taken a swipe at persons touting the creation of a credit scoring system as a game-changing solution to Ghanaians' economic difficulties.

According to him, even though a credit scoring system is a good thing, the system is not a solution by itself because it can only benefit people who are economically active.

Speaking on Good Morning Ghana on Thursday, July 25, 2024, he explained that if people have no jobs, a credit card system would be useless because they would not be able to repay when they use their credit cards to buy things on credit.

“Nobody should create the impression that it (credit scoring system) is some magic wand. I think that it's good to have a system like that. It could help people. But we don't proceed on the premise that that is the panacea.

"First of all, there must be an environment where people are productive. They are able to earn and therefore they can take up credits and be able to pay when it is due. That is the only way you can build your credit,” he said.

He also pointed out that a credit system, even though it has many benefits, comes with a lot of challenges.

He said that in advanced countries like the USA, the credit card system has left a lot of people with huge debts.

“But the mere fact that a credit score system exists does not mean that you can have everything, everything you want. If you go abroad today and you go to the churches, one of the prayer points is debt cancellation for individuals, their credit card debts and others.

“… Look, people are in serious debt. So, I'm saying that there's absolutely nothing wrong with the scoring system and all that. But people shouldn't create the impression that is what makes life comfortable for people. You must be in a position to service your debt,” he added.

Meanwhile, the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has mocked the opposition National Democratic Congress for what he described as their impossibility mindsets and lack of understanding of the credit scoring system he has proposed.

Among the policies he has proposed, Dr. Bawumia has said his government will introduce a national individualised credit scoring system, which will allow Ghanaians to buy goods, including mobile phones, on credit and pay by instalments through their credit score.

However, NDC communicators, following Bawumia's analogy of buying a mobile phone on credit and paying in instalments, have been ridiculing the policy and casting doubt on its feasibility.

Dr. Bawumia has hit back and mocked the NDC for their lack of appreciation of a system he said is common in developed countries among the working class.

"When we say we want to do something, they always say it is not possible. But it is possible," Dr. Bawumia said in Hamile during his campaign tour.

"When I said a few days ago that Ghanaians suffer a lot because everything we want to buy, we have to use cash to buy everything. In developed countries like the UK, Germany, Japan, and the United States, workers buy most things on credit. You buy a fridge, you buy a television, you buy a car, and you buy a mobile phone, you pay small, small, small. But in Ghana, you have to pay it all. So I said Ghana has reached a stage where we are going to introduce a credit scoring system that allows our workers to also pay small, small, small," he said

He added "When I said it, they couldn't understand. They don't understand some of these things and we are going to do it and you can buy your mobile phone and pay small, small, small until you finish paying. And we will be introducing the credit scoring system."

Watch Dr. Abbey’s remarks in the video below:



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