GCB

17-02-11                                                                                                                                      SERVING US BETTER

ANN: Serives provided by the Ghana Commercial Bank to its

          Costumers in Ghana is the subject of news commentary

         Today. The author is George Asekere of GBC, Radio News

          Room in Accra. His script is read by…

          LIB. FILE:SERVING US BETTER

          CUE IN: When the national…

          CUE OUT:…walk your talk.

ANN: Commentary examined the services of the Ghana Commercial

         Bank. The script was written by George Asekere of GBC, Radio

          Newsroom in Accra and read by….

When the National Tripartite Committee announced a 20 percent increase in the National Minimum Daily Wage for 2011, from 3.11Ghana cedi to 3.78 Ghana Cedi, most workers rejoiced for the mere fact that at least something will reflect in their pockets. However employers are more interested in how the upward adjustment in salaries of workers will have a corresponding effect on productivity.  The Akans in Ghana have a proverb which literally means whilst an embarrassment might not suffice to overwhelm you; it could render your cloths in shreds.  The truth is that with the emergence of social change in Ghana, any significant alteration in the social structure of the economy especially with the macro indicators, will a trickle down effect on the six pillar of the economy be it endogenously or exogenously. This explains why we should be concern about what happens in any sector of our economy be it political, religious, educational, health or marital. In fact no public institution or corporation in Ghana can lay claim to perfection as us efficiency is concerned. However one major institution whose operations affect productivity both directly and indirectly in the Ghanaian economy is the tax payer funded Ghana Commercial Bank, GCB. The Bank has a beautifully inspiring and inviting logo, We Serve you better which is boldly written on strategic places in and around the Banking Hall. The question is does the Ghana Commercial Bank truly serve its customers better? A non-hypocritical answer is no. Frankly speaking service at the GCB is irritating, frustrating, and sometimes embarrassing. Terminal errors on its ATM Machines have become a daily affair so customers now see it as normal phenomenon. Besides, what has now become known as link failure or network continue to gain notoriety. Worst of it all even when service seems normal customers are in long queues, some cashiers are busily chat. It is common to see a cashier without of the cake more than five times within an hour without telling anybody anything. As if to incur the anger of already tired customers, they look into your face and smile. It is nice to smile but more annoying to do it when you deliberately waist a customers time. It is common knowledge that some government workers including teachers in rural areas sometimes spend two working days just to withdraw their toiled earned money in their accounts. For those who visit the Bank thrice a month, several working hours are lost with the school children shouldering the net effect later. How long can we continue to suffer just because of the negligence of a few individuals entrusted to manage state institutions? The Ghana Commercial Bank is one of the best when it comes to trading in the Ghana Stock Market. The Bank has the highest number of branches dotted all over the country with well trained staffed. What workers seems to have forgotten is the very fact that branches are not established just to create jobs but help enhance productivity in the larger society. A cursory look at the track record of the Ghana Commercial Bank since its establishment in 1953, the bank has no justification to be meting out the king of services it provides to it valued customers today. When the government of Ghana decided in 1996 to diversify part of its ownership of the Bank under the economic recovery programme, many hailed the move with absolute convictions that things will improve for good. Today, the 78point 64 percent institutional and individual ownership of Ghana Commercial Bank is enough for the bank to compete with world class banks not only in Ghana but beyond looking at the wide range of services it provide and its enviable position in trading. If Kenyan  Nigerian and South African Banks can penetrate the Ghanaian market, successfully segment it be deeply be rooted, why can GBC do same in other African countries?  Again a close look at the services GCB offers make one wonder if the bank has target market at all. This is a Bank that competes with world class banks like Standard Chartered Bank, Barclays, Ecobank and Stanbic bank. At the same, it competes with ordinary susu collectors with its KUDU Nkosuo service. The marketing department of GCB must take a second look at their marketing mix since it is practically impossible to look into a bottle with two eyes. Ghanaians are worried about the services of GCB because of the dire consequences of its activities on the entirety of the economy after all if a finger brings oil it will surely soil the rest in the long run. Ghana Commercial Bank, Ghanaians truly want to  serve us better so walk your talk.

GIA.