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The government has directed the management of the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) to halt any processes that will lead to the sale of the bank’s headquarters (ADB House) in Accra until further notice.

It has also been asked to put on hold its decision to put out an Initial Public Offer (IPO) prior to further consultations with all stakeholders, including the unionised workers of the bank.

Subsequently, it said matters of conflict of interest, management issues, among other allegations raised against the management will accordingly be subjected to some further interrogation and examination by the industry regulator, the Bank of Ghana (BoG), and probably an external partner.

The Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, announced this at a news conference in Accra yesterday, which was attended by the management of the bank, led by its Managing Director, Mr Stephen Kpordzi, and unionised workers, led by the General Secretary of the Union of Industry, Commerce and Finance Workers (UNICOF), Mr John Esiope.

Also in attendance were the Deputy Minister, Mr Baba Jamal, and some officials of the Ministry of Finance and BoG.

Road to conflict

Following the decision of the management of the bank to sell its head office building for an alleged amount of $10 million and rent a new place for GH¢1 million, coupled with the decision of the bank to issue an IPO, unionised workers raised eyebrows over the intended action.

According to them, there were question marks sorrounding the deals, which included conflict of interest and corporate governance issues which if allowed to pass, would be to the detriment of the bank.

The decision of the management to proceed with its intended action forced the mother union of the bank to increase pressure on the management to stay its action or face its wrath through demonstrations and other things.

Govt intervention

Based on the various wranglings between management and unionised staff which was affecting the image of the bank which rebranded barely two years ago, the government, the lead shareholder, was forced to intervene to normalise the situation.

On the issue of the IPO, Mr Iddrisu said the ‘contentious issue’ regarding the IPO to which ADB was proceeding was in pursuance of government’s policy to restructure ADB and to allow for private participation in its ownership.

“That policy decision remains same,” he stated categorically, adding, “However, management is to subject the finalisation of the decision to further consultation with other stakeholders and in particular the union before proceeding to its conclusion. So, what I mean is that the IPO, which is a major policy decision of the government and approved by the board, should proceed only after further consultation and finalisation of negotiations with UNICOF and the local union,” he explained.

Strike action

He said both parties were to end any actions that would amount to an act of threat or intimidation or the wearing of red bands within the premises and restore full operations of the bank. 

He gave an assurance that matters related to the financial centre, its ownership and management  and issues related to build operate and transfer (BOT) and its status would further be examined by the regulator.