Clamp down on Credit Unions over corporate tax misplaced — CUA boss

The Board Chairman of the Ghana Cooperative Credit Unions Association Limited (CUA Ltd), Dr Bernard B. B. Bingab, has described as a misplaced priority the clamp down on credit unions over failure to pay corporate taxes. 

He said the unions were not set up as profit-making organisations but to help their membership have control over their financial lives. 

Speaking at the 76th Annual International Credit Union Day Celebration at Cape Coast in the Central Region, Dr Bingab emphasised the need for policymakers to come to terms with the reality and stop unwarranted approach. 

"Credit unions operate not for profits but for service. It is on this note that we wish to remind policymakers and those who have ears to hear that the clamp down on credit unions asking for corporate tax is a misplaced priority. 

“If credit unions are not part of the systems to develop the space no other will develop the space because our priority is not profit making," he stated.

The celebration was on the theme: One World Through Cooperative Finance. 

Dr Bingab stated that Cooperative Credit Unions existed as a powerful tool for sustainable development due to the many opportunities it continued to create for farmers, teachers and traders, among many other individual groupings. 

"Through cooperative finance, we have created opportunities for families, traders, teachers and many others to access credit, save securely and invest in their future," the Board Chairman of CUA Ltd explained.

For his part, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Cooperative Credit Union, Cyprian K. A. Basing, highlighted the role cooperatives had played in creating positive impacts on its members and explained that the cooperative finance model offered a unique solution in an era where global challenges such as economic inequality, environmental sustainability and social justice dominated the world. 

"The cooperative societies prioritise people over profit. At its core, cooperative finance is about inclusion, it’s about providing a platform for everyone regardless of their financial background to access the resources they need to improve their lives,” Mr Basing added. 

He urged members to see themselves as part of a global society rather than as individuals who came to the aid of communities in times of crisis. 

"Here in Ghana, credit unions have played a role in building resilience, we have seen how models have supported our members and weathering economic challenges and not only rendering financial services but also a source of solidarity and shared purpose,” Mr Basing averred. 

He added that the spirit of cooperation had enabled members to recover from challenges such as the global pandemic and remained key drivers of financial empowerment.

Mr Basing lauded the role played by the over 495 credit unions serving more than one million customers, ensuring that financial services were accessible to a broad range of people from urban centres to rural communities. 

He disclosed that its members' loan portfolio stood at GH¢2.1 billion and a savings of GH¢3.6 billion with an asset base of GH¢5.1 billion.