It’s been three months since the Bank of Ghana (BoG) directed all financial institutions to use bullion armoured vehicles to transit cash.
However, there is clear evidence that some of the banks are flouting the directive, which expired on July 1, 2023, and are still transiting cash in soft-skinned vehicles or pickups.
In the last three years, there has been a number of robberies across the country targeted at bullion vans transiting cash. Among them was the robbery at Adedenkpo near James Town in Accra in 2021 when one police officer on board was shot dead. An onlooker was also shot dead.
Another robbery attack took place at the North Industrial Area in which the police thwarted an attempted robbery attack on a bullion van.
Yet another police officer escorting a pick-up van transiting cash was killed at Ablekuma, a suburb of Accra, by the robbers.
But speaking on TV3 after the Ablekuma fatal incident, President of the Ghana Association of Banks John Awuah said banks that are not complying will be blacklisted.
“The banks are complying [but] if we get any bank that is not complying that bank would be written to the Bank of Ghana and they are blacklisted so they can’t do any business.”
But President of the Association of Bullion Operators Ghana (ABOG) Alhaji Iddi Sumaila said the financial institutions are yet to comply with the BoG directive.
“Some of the banks are still struggling to come with us because of the nature of the arrangements or the charges.
“Some want to get to their boards for approval to procure armoured vehicles so if there is any flouting of the directives, it is certainly coming from them.
“We are by this urging the financial institutions to procure armoured vehicles for their cash-in transit because it has a lot of consequences so we call on all to end this cycle of Bullion vans attacks. It is not good for the image of the country as investors shy away from putting their monies in banks that cannot secure their investments.”
By Richard Bright Addo|3news.com|Ghana