A number of Ghanaian residents abroad have welcomed Vice President and NPP flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s proposal to introduce personalized credit scoring system in Ghana to allow individuals buy goods on credit.

Dr. Bawumia announced the proposal during his initial policy address to the nation early this year and has been explaining how it would work, during his campaign tours, making reference to possible ways to buy mobile phones on credit from the Telcos and paying instalments through the credit scoring system.

Following Dr. Bawumia's recent explanations in Wa, the opposition NDC has sought to downplay its feasibility and impact.

However, a number of Ghanaians, particularly those abroad who are exposed to how such a system operates in many developed countries, have described the idea as a “game changer”.

Many have supported the proposal through their posts and showed videos to authenticate Bawumia’s initiative.

A Ghanaian based in Toronto, Canada, Joseph Ojene Adjei, stated he is passionately looking forward to the implementation of this proposal, explaining how the system is helping him and others buy things on credit in Canada.

Other Ghanaian nationals joined by giving testimonies of how a similar system of Bawumia’s credit scoring policy is benefiting them and significantly reduced their financial pressures in their respective countries.

A development economist, Dr. Frank Bangor, believed this "game changer" would help establish a standardized method for evaluating individual creditworthiness and provide Ghanaians the opportunity to purchase commodities and pay it in instalments.

Below are reactions from some people supporting Bawumia's proposal:

Kweku Owiredu Sarpong:

Ghana to have a "Credit line system" will be a game changer!

In America, with good Credit score and good payment history, you can buy anything you want, according to your income or purchasing power and pay later by monthly instalments.

From clothes, shoes, phones, cars and even a house.
So far as you have an income, you can buy anything you want on Credit and pay later.

And this is one of the advantages that makes living in abroad better than most African Countries.

David Aruna Nelson, he wrote:

Similar arguments were made against Free SHS and during Covid, the queueing theory was projected to us...and we are all witnesses to posterity on these two matters. I like these discourses. It helps bring clarity and shapes up policy

Now to the substantive issues

1. When I bought my first phone in the UK, I did it on contract. Initially, I didn't get it because I had just landed and had zilch to my credit score. 6 months down the line I qualify for the phone I wanted but it came with different cost plans due to data and call packages. So first of all I wasn't just getting the phone but it came with added value. If I bought the phone outright it wouldn't cost as much as buying the contract with unlimited data and certain amounts of call minutes over 2 years

Normally for these kinds of deals, there is a down payment before the monthly instalments for the plan you choose thus any analysis that doesn't factor in this simple fact is clearly flawed.

2. Anybody with a salary of 2k has no business buying a phone of 5k with a spread of 2 years. It doesn't make sense!! Especially when a down payment of a certain amount is not considered.

3. Thirdly the inflation rate at 25% annually would have factored in the depreciation of the currency ie the cedi and dollar dynamics. Yes you can say the two may not be the same but our inflation has largely been caused by the weak cedi and this has been overemphasised in many reports etc. and I agree that is the fundamental we must look at however any analysis that seeks to really separate the two and add the percentages is disingenuous

4. Thus whatever maths that brought the final figure over two years to 13000 making it a nearly 150% increment of the value of the phone pegged at 5000 is ridiculous and has no legs to stand on

5. I am clear in my mind who I am voting for and convinced by my choice. I have one vote. You also have one. This attempt at making you seem more important and intelligent won't wash especially when every least attempt is focused on calling those who disagree with you with condescending names and tags. It won't wash!!!! This is not 2012. The benefits of a credible credit system in an economy such as ours is enormous!! Whoever wins this election, we still go eat better, its never been in doubt !!!!

Yours truly
All the names they call people like me
(Jobless, 700 Cedis taking Robots)

Roni Nicol:

Leasing a phone doesn't mean you own it. It only allows you to use it until you finish paying( then you own it), even if it takes you 50 years!! The idea is to give everyone the opportunity to have access to a mobile phone through credit scoring.

Secondly, it will be in partnership with the telcos, so it will likely be restricted to a particular network with different tariff packages. After phones, next will be cars, electronic equipment, etc. We must embrace the credit scoring system. Take off your political lenses and analyze the concept. It is definitely a game changer!!!!

#ItIsPossible

Moses Aglina:

Are you surprised at the twist they are giving the credit scoring system proposal that would allow people to buy products and pay in instalments??
If it is beyond their comprehension, they will ridicule it instead of asking for explanation.

People who are promising hencoops as a form of job creation, how do you expect them to appreciate something as significant as a credit scoring system?

They did same to Free SHS, NHIS and other major interventions, don't worry, when it is implemented, they will say the idea came from them.

Ishmael Nketia:

Under the next NPP government, young individuals with a good credit score won’t need to spend over 10k upfront to get the latest phone on the market. Instead, they can obtain the phone at little to no initial cost and pay for it in affordable monthly instalments.

This means that the 10k can be invested in other important, life changing endeavours.

This policy will also extend to rents, vehicles, loans, and more.

It’s indeed possible!

Kennedy Osei Nyarko:

A credit system means you buy things according to your income. I don’t expect anyone to go and own iPhone 15 when you end below a certain threshold.
Not everyone in America can afford an iPhone or luxury phone.

There are equally good and better alternatives for all categories of income earners. You cut your coat according to your size. A credit system is only to ease cash purchase burden off your head in cash trap periods.

You can even purchase a Mercedes or any dream car depending on your credit which is determined by your income levels.

If your income can buy you Motorola Android, Nokia Android or Samsung A13, A14, A15 etc that’s what you go for and not to go for iPhone 13, 14 or 15 which your credit or income cannot payback for it within the contract months.

We must push for the credit scoring system since it has the potential to increase demands and thereby drive supply up with its attendant effects of job creation and industry growth in the long run.

Seidu Nuhu Martin:

In the National Credit Scoring System, your credit score will determine the type of device you can pick and same credit score will be used to determine your bit payments and tenure till you complete payment of your device.

I used 2 years to pay for my Samsung Fold 3 from Vodafone UK. I’ve always wondered why Ghanaian networks cannot replicate this system. This is undoubtedly a great move by Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia. We need generational thinkers and not retirees.

#BoldSolutionsForTheFuture
#ItIsPossible
#Bawumia2024