Vice President of IMANI Africa, Bright Simons, has reacted to a controversial issue between the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) and Fidelity Bank.
The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) has taken Fidelity Bank to task over a payment discrepancy of GHC3.6 million for the Krofrom Market project.
This move comes in response to a newspaper publication, notably on the front page of the Ghanaian Times, published on Friday, May 10, 2024.
In a statement addressing the issue, the KMA clarified several key points. Firstly, the Assembly asserted that it had never reported or stated anywhere that there was a missing GHC3 million from any project fund.
Secondly, the General Assembly had approved a loan facility of GHC5 million from Fidelity Bank for the continuation of the Krofrom Market project back in 2020.
However, the Assembly expressed concerns over Fidelity Bank’s handling of the additional GHC3,622,347.56 added to the initial loan amount.
Despite multiple attempts to seek clarification or accountability from the bank, the KMA stated that their efforts had proven futile.
Reacting to this, Mr Simons noted that it is absurd for a bank to act based on its own decision, disregarding the request agreed on.
In an X post, he wrote, “Oh, yes, Ghana now has certain “imperial” banks that do things their own way in their own style. You borrow GHS 5 million from them to pay a contractor. Somehow, they pay GHS 3.6m more to that contractor. AND SEND YOU THE BILL. And won’t explain to you or anyone how or why.”
Meanwhile, the GHC5 million facility from Fidelity Bank has been fully repaid by the Assembly, along with the interest charged by the Bank.
Notably, Fidelity Bank did not charge interest on the additional amount in question.