By Prince Ahenkorah
In a move signalling a tougher stance on state-backed financing, the Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry has announced the recovery of GH¢107 million from defaulted loans issued by the Ghana EXIM Bank. Minister Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare disclosed that a number of questionable legacy loan disbursements have been referred to security agencies for criminal investigation.
The announcement, made during a Government Accountability Series on 21 January, frames the recovery as part of a decisive break from past practices under the previous administration. The Minister explicitly criticised an era where loans were “allegedly handed out without due diligence,” characterising the new approach as one of strict credit discipline where “facilities are not ‘free money’ or favours for politically connected individuals.”
The statement carries unmistakable political undertones, coming amidst the high-profile prosecution of Wontumi Farms and its directors. The Attorney-General, Dr. Dominic Ayine, is prosecuting the case for allegedly defrauding the EXIM Bank, forgery, and causing a financial loss to the state exceeding GH₵24 million.
Minister Ofosu-Adjare’s reference to ending loans for “the boys or… the girls” and her focus on unexplained disbursements is widely interpreted as a direct critique of the previous government’s perceived clientelist lending. The recovery drive appears designed to draw a sharp contrast with the “Wontumi-like persona” of politically expedient, poorly secured lending.
The Minister reported that in 2025, under a new “strict credit creation framework,” the EXIM Bank disbursed GH¢304 million. This framework ostensibly ties lending to demonstrable economic benefit and rigorous repayment capacity assessments.
However, the spotlight remains on the past. The referral of unexplained legacy loans to security agencies suggests the government believes certain past disbursements may have been fraudulent or corrupt. This aligns with the current administration’s broader narrative of “cleaning up” institutions allegedly compromised under the Akufo-Addo government.
The crackdown serves multiple purposes. Financially, it seeks to recoup vital public funds and instil fiscal discipline in a key development bank. Politically, it allows the current National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration to bolster its accountability credentials and keep the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) government’s record in the headlines.
The success of this initiative will be judged on two fronts: the actual amount of additional funds recovered from legacy loans, and the outcomes of the criminal referrals. Should high-profile convictions follow, it would significantly strengthen the government’s anti-corruption platform. If recoveries stall and cases falter, critics will label the effort as mere political theatre.
For the business community, the move signals a potentially less flexible but more transparent lending environment at EXIM Bank, where political connections may hold less sway than credible business plans a shift that could reshape access to state credit for years to come.