Banking and financial consultant Dr. Richmond Atuahene has argued that banks could take legal action against the Controller and Accountant-General, and potentially the Finance Minister, over delays in transferring loan repayments deducted from public sector workers’ salaries.
His comments follow a warning by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Association of Banks (GAB), John Awuah, that banks could suspend new lending to public sector workers if the government continues to delay remitting deductions made from their salaries.
Dr Atuahene believes the issue goes beyond delayed payments, raising questions about contractual obligations, accountability and the protection of depositors’ money.
“How on earth would you pay somebody and you refuse to make the deductions? Is it a deliberate action?” he questioned, arguing that banks could have pursued legal remedies against the responsible authorities.
A Potential Breach of Contract
According to Dr Atuahene, the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department is expected to deduct loan repayments from workers’ salaries and transfer the money to the lending institutions.
Where deductions have been made but the funds are not remitted, the resulting dispute could give banks grounds to seek legal redress, depending on the applicable agreements, statutory duties and evidence establishing responsibility for the non-payment.
He suggested that banks could consider suing the Controller and Accountant-General and possibly the Finance Minister, drawing attention to how similar disputes might be handled in other jurisdictions.
However, whether such a case would succeed in Ghana would depend on the legal basis of the claim, the parties’ contractual obligations and the evidence of the relevant deductions and outstanding payments. Naming a minister or public official in a suit would not, by itself, establish personal liability.
GH¢6 Million Write-off Raises Concern
Dr Atuahene said the problem has already imposed financial costs on lenders, citing a savings and loans company that, according to him, wrote off about GH¢6 million in 2024 because expected repayments did not arrive.
He stressed that the money at risk ultimately belongs to depositors, whose funds banks use to provide loans and serve customers.
When repayments are withheld, banks can suffer losses, potentially increasing non-performing loans and undermining efforts to clean up the financial sector.
“If you don’t pay, what is it? The non-performing goes up. As simple as that,” he said.
Legal Action Could Force Accountability
For Dr Atuahene, the government must urgently address the problem rather than allow it to persist.
He called on President John Dramani Mahama and his administration to intervene, warning that delayed remittances threaten the financial health of lenders and could restrict access to credit for teachers, nurses, doctors and other public sector workers.
The central question is whether banks will move beyond warnings and pursue legal remedies to recover deductions that have not been transferred. Any such action would need to establish who was legally responsible for the outstanding payments and what remedies Ghanaian law permits.
