ILAPI-Ghana opposes government's plan to tap dormant bank accounts to fund budget

The Institute for Liberty and Policy Innovation (ILAPI) expressed deep concern over recent proposals by the Minister for Finance suggesting the government could tap into dormant bank accounts to finance national development. In a statement issued on Friday, Peter Bismark, Executive Director of ILAPI-Ghana, stressed that "Citizens' savings, whether active or dormant, remain private property."

ILAPI warned that appropriating private savings poses severe constitutional, economic, and ethical risks that threaten public trust in the country's banking sector. Bismark noted that dormant accounts do not constitute abandoned assets merely because they have remained inactive for a period. ILAPI highlighted reasons for inactive accounts including long-term savings strategies, overseas migration, illness, ongoing inheritance disputes, or retirement planning. The policy group emphasized that financial institutions already have clear mechanisms to reactivate inactive accounts once ownership is verified. ILAPI urges the state to focus on structural fiscal discipline and institutional reforms rather than treating dormant bank accounts as a source of government revenue.