Report: Mohammed A. Abu
The Special Advisor to the Governor of Bank of Ghana on Non-Interest Banking and finance Prof John Gartchie Gatsi,has disclosed that the Securities Exchange Commission(SEC ) and National Insurance Commission(NIC) have gone very far regarding sukuk and Takaful Guidelines expected to be out, between March-April, 2026.
Prof Gasti therefore advised potential local and foreign parties interested in rendering services relating to sukuk (non-interest bond) and Takaful (non-interest insurance) to rather consider engaging directly SEC and NIC and not the Bank of Ghana.
The two institutions, he said, have the regulatory oversight responsibility over sukuk (Non-Interest Bonds) and Takaful (Non-Interest Insurance) respectively and not the Bank of Ghana (BOG).
Those interested in sukuk under writing he said, should therefore consider contacting directly SEC as Sukuk is a Capital Market product.
Prof Gasti was speaking during an exclusive interview with your favourite, Eco-Enviro News Africa, in Accra, Monday.
BOG in charge of regulating and supervising the operations of non-interest banking institutions had earlier this year issued its final Guidelines for the Regulation and Supervision of Non-Interest Banking, 2025.
BOG, Prof Gasti said, from the word go, had ensured effective coordination among the relevant state institutional stakeholders and had thus, carried along, the two institutions. Capacity building for the said institutional stakeholders, he said, is on-going and also entails visits to Malaysia, Nigeria among others, in order to draw useful lessons.
In December last year during a NIBF training workshop,Dr.Johnson Pandit Asiama the BOG’s Governor in a speech read on his behalf by Mr. Ismail Adam,Director,Banking Supervision Department,observed that, there is the need to attract both local and Ghanaian expertise resident outside Ghana as well as foreign expertise in the core principles, product structuring, and risk management.
“Understanding and experience in products/contracts such as Mudarabah (profit-sharing), Musharakah (joint venture), Ijara (leasing), and Murabaha (cost-plus sale) is critical for us as a regulator. Conventional financial institutions are encouraged to scale up their training needs to be able to operate.
What Constitutes a Non-Interest Finance Industry
The non-Interest finance Industry( Islamic finance industry)entails, banking, Takaful (Insurance),microfinance, Capital market with particular reference to sukuk, fund management,Ijara(Lease) and the Halal industry. Also included, are the not too much talked about social financing tools namely,waqf(endowments),Zakat(compulsory Tax for the poor) and Sadaqa(Charitable donations) which all together, are sub-sets of the non-interest economy system.
Waqf(Islamic ),Zakat(compulsory tax for the poor) and Sadaqa(charitable donations)are being explored for the role they could play in meeting SMEs financing needs.
Indeed non-interest banking and finance has the potential to play a crucial role in addressing both public and public sector funding gaps in Ghana and stimulate economic growth at both macro and micro economy levels.
Non-Interest Economy System Philosophy
The economic philosophy underpinning the non-Interest Finance industry is that man to man trade, commercial and all other forms of economic activity should be ethically driven, for the mutual benefit of all parties, ensuring fairness and equity without exploitation of man by man avoided.
Every human generation is expected to act as Trustees of the resources granted to them by their Grand Creator, found in the marine, aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems on planet earth. And this goes with upmost responsibility on their part.
Sustainability consciousness driven prudent natural resources governance and management should therefore be a collective and shared responsibility of every generation and a legacy worth to be bequeathed to the next generation after them. This resonates with the United Nations Development Goals(UN SDGS).This is what the Islamic Sharia or sum total of Islamic jurisprudence strictly stands for.
The Sharia’s prohibits earning revenue through interest without participating in economic activity but rather encourages, partnership to partake in risk sharing in order to share profits as wells as loss where it is justified. It therefore not only prohibits non-interest banking and financial institutions from taking and charging interest, but also prohibits them from making investments in unproductive ventures and rather encourages them to among others, invest in the most productive sectors of the economy such as agriculture, industry, infrastructure. All this, is in the supreme interest of the welfare and well-being of humanity irrespective of their religious backgrounds.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has since considered it prudent partnering the Jeddah, Saudi Arabia based Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) to organize courses in Islamic Finance and the UN Sustainable Development Goals(UN SDGS) while, the World Bank Group and the World Economic Forum have since endorsed it’s development friendliness for emerging markets in particular.
