Although Peace Corps policy is to pay volunteers quarterly, budget wrangling in Washington has forced Peace Corps to pay us monthly.  This means that we have to go to the bank at the beginning of each month. For me, this trip to the bank is a disaster as are most things I do at the bank.

 

I bank with Ghana Commercial Bank (GBC), which has the most branches of any bank in Ghana, It operates at the typical slow pace of Ghanaian business, almost setting the tone for the rest of the country.

 

With seemingly endless and repetitive paperwork, I opened my account in July. The bank gives all account holders a book of withdrawal slips, each printed with the accountholder's name and account number. This book is supposed to arrive a month or two after the account is opened, as is the ATM card I paid for.

 

Needless to say, neither arrived after a month or two. After about six months of asking about my withdrawal book, the bank folks decided to check on the computer to see if the book had ever been ordered. I have to give credit here to a new bank employee who thought of doing this. Way to cut through the red tape. 

 

No, I was told, it had never been ordered, but now it should really arrive in a few more months. In the meantime, I would have to continue purchasing generic withdrawal slips for 3000 cedis per withdrawal. I pointed out the absurdity of this policy – clearly the bank had made a mistake by not ordering my book. In fact, the bank admitted that this was a mistake. Why should I have to pay 3000 cedis per withdrawal, essentially rewarding the bank for its own incompetence? Each slip costs 3000 cedis, I was told.

 

Nothing is free in Ghana, but it's usually because no one can afford to give anything away. GBC could easily sacrifice the 3000 cedis, but there's a bureaucratic rigidity there, something that's common in Ghana, although I suppose it's probably almost universal in the world of banking. Sometimes it seems that everything in this country is either a free-for-all or dominated by lumbering and repetitive bureaucracy with little in between.    

 

The whole withdrawal slip problem could have been avoided if I had my ATM card. Last time I asked about it I was literally laughed at by two bank employees. But in fact, my card has arrived. Twice.

 

The first time it arrived, several months late and printed with the name Jacob Ari, the local GBC had just installed an ATM. Unfortunately, I was issued an "old" card and this was a "new" machine. The two were incompatible, so I had to fill out some forms, return my card, and wait a few months for a new "new" card to arrive. When it did, it was somehow faulty. This happens, I was told. A certain percentage just don't work. This was nothing that a few more forms and months of waiting could not fix. (note: with everything, the bank mistakes how long something will actually take. I don't think they're lying. Rather, I think they either have no idea or like many people in this country, they simply have no sense of time.).

 

It's normal for me to wait two hours to make a quick withdrawal (I refuse to pay off the security guards as another nearby volunteer does). There's the line outside and then the line inside which is done on couches. This means each time I move up in the line, I have to awkwardly and uncomfortably shuffle a butt-width down the couch. Because of the long line, I tend to nearly empty my account each month.

 

Peace Corps living allowance is about 1.5 million cedis per month, or 150 ten thousand cedi bills, the second largest denomination (ever walk out of a bank with a pocket-wad of cash? Makes me feel like I robbed the place). Paying with twenty thousand cedi bills, the largest denomination, is often problematic, like buying a pack of gum with a $100 bill. People just don't have change.

 

But many things are changing. My withdrawal book has finally arrived. Peace Corps living allowance is jumping by nearly 20% starting next month. This summer the currency is being "re-denominated," so I will not have to fill my pockets with cash. Maybe I'll even have a working ATM card.

 

This is why Peace Corps is two years.

 

 

Addendum #1: Imus was fired for saying something offensive? Isn't that his job?