Queen of Peace Cooperative Credit Union in the Madina municipality of the Greater Accra Region, has celebrated its fortieth anniversary with a projection to grow its membership by 20, 000 in the next five years.
Delivering the welcome address at the launch of the celebration of the fortieth-anniversary award of staff on Saturday, June 11, 2022, the Board Chairman for the cooperative, Mr Thompson Kubaje, said in the next five years, the union’s objectives are to ensure 20 per cent capital adequacy with a net operating margin of above 15 per cent.
We have the assets and capacity to enroll more members for loans and savings, he said.
It is the vision of the union, to ensure consistent dividend payments to its shareholders and to train competent staff to man the operations of the union.
“These will not come easy, just like the founding fathers of the union with the fortitude to survive and become heroes of today.
Let’s all draw inspiration from the founding fathers and mothers so that we will also bequeath a vibrant credit union to the next generation”, he said.
He said, it is the vision of the managers of credit unions the financial institution of choice for loans and businesses in the country.
Let our credit union space drive the youth’s entrepreneurial skills and dreams to help transform the country by inculcating the habit of savings in the youth.
Giving a brief background about the establishment of the cooperative unions, he said the model sprung up in Germany in the 1850s and 1860s and in Ghana in September 1955.
The first credit union in begun Jirapa in the Upper West Region by an Irish –Canadian priest by name, Rev. Father John McNulty.
According to him, a major role was also played by Cardinal Peter Porekuu Dery in the formative stages and this cannot be underestimated
He added that today credit unions are a brand that cannot be surpassed when it comes to the financial ecosystem of Ghana.
“We are the custodians of the future financial stability of the nation because others have failed but we still stand strong amid the financial challenges facing the country”, he said.
The Manager of Credit Union Association (CUA), Mr Cypian Basiny, commended the management of the union for the projections for a membership drive of 20,000.
He called on all the staff to work towards the ambitions of management.
He added the association is poised on using technology to attract the youth to do business with credit unions.
According to him, credit unions are the time and tested savings and loans companies adding no credit union was collapsed as part of the cleaning of the banking sector by the central bank.
He admitted technology is key in driving membership for credit unions going forward
