Bright Simons, Vice-President of Policy Think Tank IMANI Africa, has strongly criticised the Attorney-General’s recent claim that government has successfully recovered 60% of liabilities associated with the collapsed Unibank.
In a detailed social media post on Monday, July 28, Mr. Simons described the government’s figures as “financially misconceived” and insisted that only a fraction — approximately 10.6% — of the actual liabilities has been recovered.
According to Mr. Simons, the original direct exposure related to the Unibank collapse was pegged at GH¢5.7 billion, a figure which has now been revised down to GH¢3.3 billion without sufficient public explanation. Of this revised amount, GH¢800 million is expected to be recovered through the forfeiture of properties, while another GH¢1.2 billion is anticipated from Unibank’s debtors.
However, Mr. Simons argues that these figures are grossly insufficient when measured against the full scale of the losses.
“If we use market exchange rates, the government has recovered only $160 million of a liability that may well exceed $1.5 billion,” he wrote.
“That is barely 10.6% of the total losses to Ghana’s welfare!”
He also noted that even the amount Unibank’s own shareholders admitted as liabilities — over $1 billion — has not been matched by the current recovery efforts or figures presented by the state.
Call for Transparency from Key Stakeholders
Mr. Simons further called out the Bank of Ghana and the appointed Receiver, criticising their continued silence on the matter. He argued that both institutions played central roles in the collapse and recovery process, and should therefore be accountable to the public.
“In any serious country, the press conference of the AG today would be the beginning, not the end, of the national debate,” Simons asserted.
He urged the public and media to demand greater transparency, especially around the real financial impact of the banking sector clean-up and the state’s ongoing asset recovery strategy.
Background
The collapse of Unibank formed part of Ghana’s broader banking sector reforms initiated in 2017–2018, which saw the revocation of licences and consolidation of several indigenous banks. The government has since been working to recover public funds that were injected during the process.
The Attorney-General’s recent comments formed part of the Operation Recovery All Loots (ORAL) initiative — a government-led drive to trace and retrieve assets lost through financial mismanagement and corruption. While the AG insists significant progress has been made, Mr. Simons’ comments suggest the need for closer scrutiny and independent validation of recovery claims.
Source: Wesleyannews.com
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