Press spotlights GH¢61m lost to fraud by banks, financial institutions, others

By Agence de Presse Africaine Last updated Jul 2, 2022

APA– Accra The figure given as total losses to fraud suffered Banking, Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions and Electronic Money Issuers in 2021 amounted to GH ¢61 million as compared to GH ¢25 million in 2020 is one of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Friday. The figures contained in the B&SDI and EMI fraud report issued by the Bank of Ghana…

APA – Accra (Ghana) The figure given as total losses to fraud suffered Banking, Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions (B&SDI) and Electronic Money Issuers in 2021 amounted to GH¢61million as compared to GH¢25 million in 2020 is one of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Friday.

The Graphic reports that the total losses to fraud suffered Banking, Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions (B&SDI) and Electronic Money Issuers in 2021 amounted to GH¢61million as compared to GH¢25 million in 2020.

The figures contained in the B&SDI and EMI fraud report issued by the Bank of Ghana represents a 144.00% increase in year-on-year terms, although 2021 saw a minimal decline of 12.09% in the number of attempted fraud cases of 2,347 for the Banking and SDI sector as compared to 2,670 in 2020.

The report said the significant fraud types that accounted for this figure included ATM card/POS fraud, impersonation, lending and credit fraud, forgery and manipulation of documents, cash suppression and E-money fraud.

The report said the increase in usage of electronic and digital platforms in the financial sector resulted in an increase in ATM card/POS fraud.

However, there were other fraud types, which also recorded some huge losses.

Notable among these were impersonation, lending and credit fraud, suppression of cash, E-money and forgery and manipulation of documents.

The newspaper says that the violent attacks on the police by protesters of Arise Ghana on Tuesday, June 28, 2022, has confirmed an earlier security intelligence that there is an attempt to destabilise the country.

The Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, made the assertion in an interview on Accra-based television station, Metro TV, in reaction to the clash between the police and protestors at the Obra Spot, Kwame Nkrumah Circle.

“There is an obvious attempt to create instability in our country, and we don’t need to mince words about it.

“And there is a trajectory, first there was a group that wanted to demonstrate with weapons, then there was this group that said they wanted to demonstrate throughout the night till the morning and the Police raised obvious questions,” Mr Oppong Nkrumah said.

The Minister said those trajectory of actions should not be ignored by well-meaning Ghanaians in view of the recent terrorist attacks in neighbouring countries.

He, therefore, commended the police for their professionalism and good temperament in the face of provocation by the protestors.

The Ghanaian Times reports that Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has called on the government to be keen on ensuring food and nutrition security in the rural areas of the country.

According to GSS, food insecurity in Ghana stands at 11.7 per cent, implying 3.6 million people are food insecure.

Out of the 3.6 million, 78 per cent, implying 2.8 million people are located in rural areas and 22 per cent (0.8 million) in the urban areas.

Dr Peter Takyi Peprah, Head of Survey, GSS, indicated that food insecurity on regional basis in the country “is truly a national challenge”, and there was the need for interventions.

He was giving a presentation on the Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis (CFSVA) for Ghana, here on Wednesday.

The meeting brought together staff of GSS, nutritionists and officers from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) in the Districts in the middle belt.

Ghana government through MOFA and GSS in collaboration with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and Food and Agriculture Organisation(FAO) conducted a nationwide Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis(CFSVA) for Ghana, in 2020.

The newspaper says that there has been mad rush for the Ghana Card to meet the July 1 deadline set by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) as the only national identification (ID) to be used for all financial transactions in the various banks.

A visit to the National Identification Authority (NIA) headquarters by the Ghanaian Times witnessed applicants patiently seated in long queues under tents while others kept on their feet waiting for their turn to be attended to.

At about 11:10 am yesterday, confusion erupted at the scene when they started rushing to secure seats so they could get their cards done as quickly as possible, but with the timely intervention of the police, calm was restored to the place to ensure the process continued.

The NIA centre currently offers a premium service at GH₵250.00 for the ID card to be issued instantly.

Mr Isaac Appiah, a businessman lamented that for the past three years, he was still chasing after his Ghana Card despite several follow ups made on the matter.

“I registered at Ashaiman in 2019 and have been chasing the card ever since but I am yet to be issued with my Ghana Card.

“This is my second day at the premises, I had to wake up very early than I did yesterday since I now live at Ada and my transport is GH₵100, I wish I could be allowed to just pay the GH₵250 and take my hands out of it,” he bemoaned.

The Ghanaian Times also reports that the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Francis Asenso-Boakye, has said the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-Habitat, renewed its commitment to partner the government of Ghana in attaining sustainable urbanisation and improving climate change adaptation.

The minister disclosed this when he met the Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-Habitat, Maimunah Mohd Sharif, at the ongoing World Urban Forum (WUF11) in Katowice, Poland, held under the theme “Transforming Our Cities for a Better Urban Future.”

As part of the engagement, the two leaders explored, among others, possible collaborations geared towards addressing both national and global issues.

These, Mr Asenso-Boakye said, included climate change adaptation, rapid urbanisation and its impact on communities, cities and economies, as well as the provision of sustainable human settlements aimed at achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 11, that is, “To make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”.

Mr Asenso-Boakye re-echoed the need to prioritise affordable housing, not only to address housing shortage for a larger segment of cities, but also to ensure that cities were planned and built in a more sustainable and inclusive manner, which was in line with the theme for this year’s World Urban Forum.

He noted that Ghana had currently developed a framework that sought to provide housing in a more organised and sustainable manner to address housing challenges facing the country.

“To achieve this, I believe there is the need to create a robust institutional framework to develop and implement Affordable Housing Programmes across the country, hence our decision to establish a Ghana Housing Authority,” he said.

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GIK/APA