Management of Zenith Bank Ghana Limited has donated One Million Ghana Cedis (GH¢1,000,000) to the National COVID-19 Trust Fund to complement Government’s fight against the virus.
The support is also to assist in the welfare of the needy and the vulnerable in society.
The gesture is in addition to an earlier contribution of GH¢10,000,000 donation earlier presented by the Ghana Association of Bankers (GAB) to the COVID-19 Trust Fund.
Mrs Freda Duplan, the Board Chair of Zenith Bank, speaking at the presentation said, “COVID-19 has re-emphasised the need for all of us; government, corporate entities, private sector and individuals to work together for the common and greater good of our dear nation, Ghana.”
She said solidarity has never been more critical to overcoming challenges than in this period and their donation to the National Covid-19 Trust Fund was, therefore, reflective of the Bank’s mission as a corporate organisation to invest in their environment to underscore their commitment to achieving customer enthusiasm.
Mr Akindele Ogunranti, the Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of the Bank on his part, said, “These unprecedented times require every segment of the society to contribute their quota to support government’s efforts towards mitigating the impact of the Coronavirus”.
He said the bank was grateful for the President’s timely intervention and the measures put in place to combat the spread of the Coronavirus in Ghana.
Meanwhile, as part of measures to ensure that the Bank’s staff comply with set protocols in combatting the spread of the coronavirus, Zenith Bank has reduced its workforce by 50 per cent through the creation of a shift system that is rotating staff nationwide.
In addition, certain categories of staff (such as pregnant staff, nursing mothers, staff with medical conditions,) have been granted leave to stay at home to protect them from any COVID-19 exposure risk.
Moreover, the bank has provided individual sanitizers to all staff and to teams to ensure they constantly observed the precautionary measures instituted by the Ghana Health Service.
Furthermore, Zenith bank is strictly implementing a three-step process of washing hands, sanitising and temperature checks before staff, customers and visitors are granted entry into the bank’s buildings.
There has also been the appointment of hygiene champions in all departments and units to ensure all team members were reminded to wash their hands at scheduled times.
Also, there has been the implementation of a distance of 2 meters in the workplace to observe the social distance precautionary measure.
In addition, a maximum number of ten (10) customers are allowed entry into the banking halls at any point in time.
As people are encouraged to conduct their transactions using digital channels during this period, Zenith Bank has also ensured full functionality of its electronic channels ( zenith cards, ZMobile app, Internet Banking, Bank2Wallet – mobile money, USSD code – *966# and GlobalPAY) to enable customers carry out their banking transactions from the comfort of their homes.
To this effect, customers are guaranteed a safe and secure banking experience via Zenith Bank’s electronic channels.
Some incentives which have been granted include; the waiving of all interbank transfer fees on the bank’s digital platforms; mobile wallet transactions below GHc100 also do not attract any charges.
By Morkporkpor Anku, GNA
