The Member of Parliament for New Juaben South, Michael Okyere Baafi, has described the allocation of GHS51.3 million as the initial capital for the Women’s Development Bank as a major mistake.
He argues that the amount, approved through the Minister for Finance in a financial statement to Parliament, is nowhere near what is required to establish a bank let alone a development bank.
“Mr. Speaker I will like to pray and plead with you to push for that correction to be made because it was a mistake, a complete mistake for His Excellency the President to through his Minister of Finance to give only a paltry GHS51 million as initial capital which is not supposed to be the case,” he asserted.
According to him, the Women’s Development Bank was meant to serve as a financial institution that would create opportunities for women and provide them with easy access to loans to support their businesses.
During the budget presentation on March 11, 2025, Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson stated that the government has set aside GH¢51.3 million as the initial funding for the creation of the Women’s Development Bank.
However he believes the initial allocation is far from adequate and raises concerns about whether the bank can effectively serve its intended purpose.
He insists that the president, through the Minister for Finance, made a fundamental mistake by approving only GHS51 million which he considers insufficient to launch a proper development bank.
He maintains that without adequate funding, the Women’s Development Bank will struggle to fulfill its mandate of supporting women entrepreneurs.
