President of the Chartered Institute Bankers (CIB), Benjamin Amenumey, has underscored the need for individuals – especially the youth – to save, invest and manage their money as this is vital for their financial independence.
Mr. Amenumey, in an interview with the B&FT on the side-lines of a financial literacy education tour to some selected senior high schools in Kumasi, indicated that knowledge on how to manage money is key.
“We have come to a stage where we have seen that a lot has happened in the industry; that it is time for us to sensitise the future customers of banks, and future bankers, to know much about banking. We also want them to know the difference between savings, investment and how to manage their resources in a manner that they will be able to stay afloat.”
Also, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) CIB Ghana, Robert Dzato – touching on the motive behind the financial literacy campaign, indicated that the initiative to bring financial literacy to schools is part of their core mandate and responsibility to develop the core skills people need to manage their finances.
“We all need to pay attention to the financial literacy side. How to manage money is not taught in school. Financial literacy skills help us manage our finances so we can achieve financial freedom and prosperity,” he said.
He further cautioned individuals and organisations to be mindful of where they put their investment, as high interest comes along with high risk.
“We all need some financial literacy skills. If there’s anything we have learnt from the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) it is that as Ghanaians we need more financial literacy; and for us, we have a responsibility as an institute to take the message of financial literacy and develop the core skills that people need.
“Topics like how do you save? What is the relationship between risk versus returns? If it sounds too good to be true then there’s a lot of risk involved. If we are going to make progress it depends on the literacy level – not just on formal education but also the financial literacy level, and that is so important,” Mr. Dzato emphasised.
