Aggrieved customers of Gold Coast want government to act now

The Aggrieved Customers of Gold Coast Funds Management (GCFM) have called on government to act on their plea by paying all Interim Payment Certificates (IPCs) due GCFM and to compel the Company to pay them.

The Aggrieved Customers urged government to reconsider plans to liquidate the GCFM as government itself remains a major debtor to the Company.

Mr Charles Nyame, the Public Relations Officer, told the media on Tuesday, that the government needed to raise the IPCs of completed projects for payment and also pay its indebtedness to GCFM or give comfort letters to allow the Company raise the needed funds to pay their customers.

The Accra branch of the Aggrieved Customers attended the briefing clad in red and black attires.

Mr Nyame urged Government to terminate the appointment of Rev Daniel Ogbame Tetteh for failing to regulate the activities of GCFM, which had culminated in their current predicaments.

Mr Nyame said the group knew for a fact that the GCFM was a major player in Ghana’s capital market, offering undertakings to several state Agencies, Departments, and Ministries such as the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Roads and Highways, COCOBOD, and GetFund, among others.

He said the group had sighted IPCs and interest to the tune of GHC350million since 2017 but the government had not paid without any justification, adding that IPCs were the works that the government had certified done and awaiting payment.

He said the company had also sighted a bill of quantities of completed works, totaling GHC900million without interim payment certificates prepared.

Mr Joseph Aryeetey, Secretary to the group, said on June 15, the group embarked on a demonstration and presented petitions to the President but had so far not received any response.

He said the group would roll out another plan if nothing was heard from the government to ensure that their hard-earned investment was paid.

In an interaction with some of the Aggrieved Customers, Mr Alhassan Yakubu, who has more than GHC90, 000.00 investment locked up, said his dreams had been shattered and now found it difficult to meet his business obligations since he had no money to pre-finance the operations?

He showed the Ghana News Agency a text message allegedly coming from the GCFM informing him that payment had started and would soon get to him.

The GNA identified that such messages had been sent to several other customers on different occasions since July, this year.