THE South Akyem portion of the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional area is mainly a forest zone where varieties of food crops such as maize, plantain and all types of tubers are cultivated.
While some of the foodstuffs are consumed locally, most of them find their way to other markets in nearby metropolitan such as Accra and Tema, as well as big towns like Ashaiman and Koforidua.
The area is also the main cocoa belt in the region and is one of the most populous areas in the region with a large segment of the population engaged in commercial enterprises such as transport and trading in all sorts of merchandise.
Although the people are enterprising, their desire to go into large scale production of food and cash crops as well as boosting commercial activities has been hampared due to lack of funds.
The reason is that over the years, there was no financial institution within the vicinity to offer them the necessary credit facility.
As a result, farming at the subsistence level was the only option, with most of them on small holdings while petty trading was the order of the day.
The possibility of those wishing to go into the transport sector to purchase new vehicles for either private or commercial purposes was zero.
The people had to rely on old dilapidated vehicles most of which often broke down in the middle of journeys.
It is in the light of this deplorable situation that the establishment of the South Akim Rural Bank with its headquarters at Nankese on November 2, 1984, came as a sigh of relief to the people.
The bank which currently has branches at Suhum, Asamankese, Adoagyiri, near Nsawam and an agency at Osenase, a farming community within the West Akyem Municipality, has since its inception offered credit facilities to people in its catchment areas.
The bank granted a total of GH¢3,689,102.01 in 2008, an increase of 51 per cent over GH¢2,450,744 it gave out the previous year.
Apart from that, the bank has been honouring its social responsibility by assisting communities in its catchment areas in diverse ways, such as offering scholarships to brilliant needy students.
All that has been possible as a result of the prudent measures instituted by the bank’s board of directors, which was implemented by management.
For instance, last year, the bank’s profit after tax more than doubled from GH¢172,984.01 in 2007 to GH¢361,910 in 2008, total assets shot up from GH¢6,646,673 to GH¢7,890,700 with the shareholders’ fund increasing from GH¢559,271 to GH¢826,064, within the same period.
Such a significant achievement as expected, catapulted the bank into Ghana Club 100, a group of 100 most viable commercial entities in the country in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2008 ratings.
The bank which currently occupies the first position of rural banks in the Eastern Region, also moved up from the 87th position to 21 out of all the rural banks in the country.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic after a board meeting at Nankese, the elated members, including the chairman, Mr W.K. Boateng, the immediate past chairman, Opanin Kwasi Gyasi together with other technocrats, bankers and captains of commerce, Messrs S.K. Akwetey, Vice Chairman, E.K. Oware, E.C. Asante-Addo, Umar Amoah G.D. Agyakwah and S.S. Ayeh, Nana Kwaku Addo and Mrs E.A. Fianko, could not hide their excitement.
The board which was not surprised that the bank had achieved such a feat, said since it was the collective effort of the board, management, customers and particularly shareholders, that had made it to come this far, it had to considerably reward customers and shareholders.
For instance, last year, the bank gave out GH¢3,689,102.01 to its customers as loans compared to GH¢2,450,744 disbursed in 2007.
The bank’s social responsibility within that period included offering of scholarships to 65 brilliant needy students, rehabilitation of the police barracks at Suhum, the Nsawam and Koforidua Central Police Stations and the acquisition of water pumps for Akote and Ayisikrom, very remote farming communities.
The bank is also planning to construct buildings for a proposed senior high school at Nankese.
The success of the bank and its assistance to individuals engaged in agriculture and commerce as well as the communities, particularly those within Nankese town, has helped to improve the standard of living of the people in the area.
Speaking at the recent annual general meeting of shareholders of the bank, the Nankesehene, Nana Annor Maafo II said, “this bank has indeed helped my people and I will do everything possible to ensure its continued existence”.
With such a laudable contribution of the bank that has tremendously improved the standard of living of the people, it is expected that beneficiaries of its loans would promptly pay back for others to benefit from the facility.
Much is also expected of the board and management to institute the required measures such as the strengthening of the internal control mechanism to prevent fraudulent deals, particularly Internet fraud that has of late bedevilled the banking sector.
These measures would go a long way to further boost the fortune of the bank to enable it to continue to render better services to the communities
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