Archbishop Charles Agyinasare, founder and senior pastor of the Perez Chapel International, has expressed regret over the impact that the present financial crisis in the country is having on the church’s investment.
Archbishop Charles Agyinasare says that he can’t get back his initial investment of GH106,000. This is because the government has set up a debt swap program in response to the country’s economic disaster.
The well-respected minister of God shared this information with his congregation.
According to him, his bankers told him that until the complete sum was resolved, they could only pay him GH1000 per week.
“I’m going to say something, don’t make it political, I’m not talking politics, I’m talking Ghana, I’m talking about us being in a time like that where our money has been failing, if it has not already failed,” he said. “I’m going to say something, don’t make it political, I’m not talking politics, I’m talking Ghana.” Even people’s risk-free bonds, which our banks are unable to pay for, cannot be cashed in.
“I’m going to share with you some of my personal experiences. I am a customer of a particular banking organization, and I hold an instrument with them. For a very long period, I have been putting money away, and it has [accumulated to] around GH106,000 at this point.
After I informed my bank that I would be withdrawing my funds, they informed me that they would pay me GH1,000 on a weekly basis. According to what Archbishop Agyinsare shared, “it indicates that it will take me 106 weeks to recover all of my money back from the GH106,000.”
Archbishop Charles Agyinasare stated that the administrators of his bank had told him in no uncertain terms that the reason they were providing him with that payment plan was due to the standing he holds in the nation.
“And when I stated that they should do something about it, they responded that they were trying since it was me, Archbishop.”And when I said that they should do something about it. Because there are customers who visit our bank and cry when they see us.
Because of the reorganization [DDEP] that we are now working on, the payment of some amounts will take up to thirty years. Archbishop Agyinasare stated that he was not discussing politics but rather the current state of affairs.
The outspoken pastor said that because their money will be stuck in the banks for a long time, most businesses in the country will soon have to let go of most of their employees.
“When there was no more money in Egypt, they came to Joseph… Therefore, we will both pray to the Lord together to Joseph… Therefore, we will both pray to the Lord together. Because of what is going on, a lot of people are going to lose their jobs very soon.
This is due to the fact that businesses that have money but are unable to withdraw it from the banks will not be able to pay their employees. “Therefore, put Ghana and not politics at the forefront of your mind,” he said.
Archbishop Agyinasare told the people in his church to pray for the country and ask God to help it.
Background
Due to the ongoing economic crisis and the government’s efforts to get a $3 billion rescue package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the government started the domestic debt exchange program to help make the country’s debt easier to handle.
Bonds and other financial instruments are affected by the condition of the debt exchange program, which is strongly opposed by many different groups.
Individual Bondholders Forum is an organization that has been putting pressure on the government to completely exclude its members from the Domestic Debt Exchange Program. This organization claims that the inclusion of its members in the program will destroy household confidence in Ghana’s financial system and securities market.
Several known groups, including financial institutions, insurance companies, and other businesses that are set to lose money because of the debt swap scheme, have spoken out about their worries.