Prudential Bank Ghana Limited has donated essential items worth GH¢50,000 to the Ghana Tourism Authority to support the fight against the novel Coronavirus pandemic. The items are made up of 825 boxes of sanitisers, 360 packs of tissue towels, 1,320 boxes of liquid soap, 1,000 packs of reusable nose masks, and 1,000 pieces of Veronica buckets.
In an interview, with the Executive Head of Operations-Prudential Bank, Thomas Broni, he noted that the bank, from afar, has seen the efforts of the Ghana Tourism Authority to support the indigenous sector, and therefore the need for them to lend support.
He said this is important because it creates an avenue whereby they can together overcome COVID-19, which is currently affecting all areas of the hospitality industry. “As a truly indigenous bank, we understand the Ghanaian terrain more than any other bank; and that is why we thought it wise to support the hospitality industry at this crucial moment.”
He lamented that Prudential Bank, as a financial institution, has also been hit by the pandemic because there were costs they did not plan for; however, it did not serve as a deterrent for them to support in other areas when the need arose.
“In the midst of every challenge there are opportunities, either to be creative or to look at different ways of doing things; and as a bank we are also looking at some of these opportunities so that the negative impact will not cripple the progress made,” he said.
Receiving the items, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Tourism Authority, Akwasi Agyeman, expressed appreciation to the bank for its benevolent support, saying: “The industry is one of the hardest hit by the pandemic due to the ban on public gathering and travelling, among other restrictions by government”.
He revealed that they had engagements with the National Board for Small Scale Industries, which is administering the GH¢600million stimulus package to serve as a source of alleviation for the hospitality industry.
“We are holding discussions with the Ghana Tourism Federation (GHATOF) to look at guidelines and modalities for members to benefit from the package. There is also a World Bank project through the Ministry of Tourism that has a grant component which is being fast-tracked to meet some of the challenges, like staff salaries,” he said.
