Alliance of Financial Literacy Organizations (AFLO), a network of financial literacy organizations and advocates are strongly pushing for financial education among Ghanaians in order to avert the investment of their life savings and hard earned income into some financial institutions and Ponzi schemes operating in the country.
The group says its objectives are to create a platform for synergy, partnerships and collaboration to lobby for policies affecting financial literacy and to embark on nationwide public financial awareness creation and education.
Ms. Sedinam Ameku, the Convenor of AFLO said “ Truth is, we have all ourselves to not just blame but take responsibility knowing that with financial literacy education for the citizenry, we could have prevented the mess that hit the country’s financial sector. Because it wouldn’t have mattered which institution was promising even a hundred percent interest. If the citizenry are financial literates, you certainly wouldn’t even need the Bank of Ghana or Security and Exchange Commission to issue warnings in respect of some pyramid schemes operated around.”
Speaking at a news conference in Accra, she said, general education through the attaining of academic degrees only increases the likelihood of understanding financial concepts and how to apply them. Ghana’s educational system according to her has lapses. Financial education of the country’s young generation in schools, the Convenor of AFLO, added would give rise to a financially literate society in a few years to come.
The new silent generations, Ms. Ameku explained, is three times likely to understand finance at the formative stages of their lives as compared to the older generation. She stated that it would be prudent to introduce financial education into Ghana’s schools noting that it would prepare the minds of the students and the country’s future leaders on how best to manage their financial lives.
Source: Adovor Nutifafa
