2025 Budget: GHC 51M for Women’s Bank won’t make any impact – Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu
Veteran politician and former Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has raised concerns over the practicality of the proposed GHC 51 million allocation for the establishment of the Women’s Bank, questioning its effectiveness in addressing the financial needs of 17 million Ghanaian women.
Speaking at a public dialogue on the 2025 budget organized by MPs in the Kumasi Bloc, Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu compared the allocation to the GHC 400 million capital requirement for setting up a commercial bank in Ghana, which was equivalent to $100 million at the time it was introduced.
“With the capital requirement for the establishment of banks set at 400 million cedis, which was equivalent to 100 million dollars at the time, what can 51 million cedis, now equivalent to only 3.2 million dollars, do for 17 million women in Ghana?” he questioned.
“Contained in the 51 million is the amount required to establish a bank. If we assume that each regional capital will get one branch, that means each region will have to spend 3.1 million to run the branch. How much will each region spend on computers, office equipment, security doors, and other essentials? Its impact is negligible,” he argued.
The Women’s Development Bank, a promise made by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government, aims to provide start-up capital and low-interest loans to women-led businesses, especially in the informal sector.
Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu’s comments add to the growing debate over whether the allocated amount is sufficient to establish and sustain a specialized financial institution to support women-led businesses across the country.
The maiden public dialogue was under the theme: “Assessing the 2025 Budget: Implications for Kumasi’s Development and the Way Forward”. It brought together known figures within the New Patriotic Party (NPP), civil society, security agencies, the media and other formal and informal interest groups.
