GMA Vice President, Professor Ernest Yorke and John Awuah, GAB CEO
The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) has expressed strong displeasure over comments made by the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Association of Banks (GAB), John Awuah, alleging that 70 percent of doctors in Ghana default on loan repayments.
Speaking on the October 9, 2025 edition of PM Business Edition on JoyNews, as monitored by GhanaWeb Business, Awuah claimed that loan defaults among doctors have become a growing concern within the banking sector.
According to him, many doctors, who are generally regarded as highly credible, take personal loans from banks and subsequently leave the country without fulfilling their repayment obligations.
He explained that the situation is often driven by doctors who migrate abroad for work after securing loans locally.
“Let me tell you, we have heard of doctors. These are on the moral pecking order. When you see a medical doctor, you almost 100% assume that they are not fallible. They don’t make mistakes, and things like borrowing and payment will come to them naturally.
“Wherever they are going, they are working there and earning, and one would think that as medical practitioners, they will just say, ‘I have a liability in Ghana, which enabled me to demonstrate that I can fund my travel, so let me come and settle.’ About 70% of them are not paying,” he earlier said.
70% of doctors default on loans before leaving Ghana – John Awuah
Reacting to the remarks in a statement sighted by GhanaWeb, the Vice President of the GMA, Professor Yorke, said the association was “shocked and disappointed” by the CEO’s public statements, describing them as inaccurate and damaging to the reputation of medical professionals.
“Are you not surprised at this very figure — that 70% of doctors who borrow money don’t pay?” Professor Yorke questioned.
He also added that the claim was “curious and very likely inaccurate.”
He explained that, contrary to the suggestion of widespread defaults, financial institutions regularly approach the GMA with tailor-made financial products and credit facilities for medical practitioners, an indication that doctors remain a trusted client group.
“Almost on a quarterly basis, banks and other financial institutions approach the GMA with tailor-made financial products and solutions. If we were not creditworthy, I am not sure the banks would continue. Something is really amiss,” Professor Ernest Yorke clarified.
The GMA has since called for an immediate public apology and retraction from the GAB CEO, stating that the remarks unjustly impugn the integrity and moral standing of Ghanaian doctors.
“We were hoping that if they had concerns, they would have first written to or approached the GMA, rather than subjecting doctors to public ridicule,” Prof. Yorke said.
He added that the association remains open to engaging with the banking sector to address any legitimate concerns.
MA
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