Aggrieved microfinance customers beg President to help them retrieve their money from DCE

Some residents of the Bawku are pleading with President Akufo-Addo to help them retrieve monies they invested in a defunct microfinance company owned by the District Chief Executive for Builsa South, Daniel Gariba.

The residents who have been asking for their money from Mr Gariba and his company, COMAID Microfinance since 2013 are accusing the DCE of using his office to taunt them, telling them “by virtue of his position as a DCE, there is nothing we can do to him”.

According to them, Mr Gariba and the branch manager of the microfinance, Shadrach Abugri made them believe “COMAID was a credible and trustworthy microfinance company” when it was actually a grand scheme to rob them of their life savings.

Narrating their ordeal to the media in a press statement, the residents revealed that Daniel Gariba introduced his company to them through radio advertisement in 2013 convincing them they stand to make huge returns if they invest in the company.

They however received the shock of their lives when the company closed the branch office at a time their investments had matured.

According to these victims even though they secured a court ruling in 2017 to “recover from the defendants the sum of four hundred and fifty thousand Ghana cedis (GHC450,000.00) as monies the plaintiffs invested with the defendants, damages of thirty six thousand Ghana cedis (36,000.00) and cost of eighteen thousand Ghana cedis (GHC18,000.00)”, they are yet to receive a dime.

They noted that Mr Gariba promised to pay them if he becomes the DCE for Builsa but has been ignoring them ever since he got the appointment.

Find the full statement below

Date: 14th June, 2018

From: COMAID MICROFINANACE INVESTORS

Subject: IMMEDIATE ATTENTION

Ladies and gentlemen of the press, we thank you all for coming to give us coverage and audience on this very important legal tussle between we victims of COMAID and the defendants; COMAID Micro finance company, Daniel Gariba the Director of COMAID who is now the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Builsa South; and Mr. Shadrach Abugri the manager of COMAID, Bawku Branch. This is a case that has travelled for almost two years.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the media, we want to use this platform to make a passionate appeal to His Excellency, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo to intervene on this matter by talking to his appointee, Hon. Kwame Daniel Gariba, the current District Chief Executive (DCE) for Builsa South and Director of COMAID Microfinance Company to pay our monies.

Somewhere in 2013, the Hon. Daniel Kwame Gariba came to Bawku and made advertisements on Source 101.1 FM, a locally based radio station, about his microfinance company called COMAID. He made an advertisement on a promotional package in his company for an investment yielding returns at a varying rate of 120%, 90%, 60%, and 25% for a period of 12 months. He presented a license of his company from the Bank of Ghana to engage in such investments, savings and ‘susu’ collection. He said COMAID was investing our monies in gold business at the international level.

He and the branch manager, Mr. Shadrach Abugri were able to convince us the victims that COMAID was a credible and trustworthy microfinance company. We the victims, numbering over 600 people invested our hard earned monies into COMAID with the hope of getting the agreed benefits at the end of the agreed period. However, we were shocked to the bone marrow when we realized that the whole thing was a grand scheme by the Hon. DCE for Builsa South to defraud us the innocent citizens. Customers whose investments matured were not paid and when pressure was mounting on them to pay, they closed the branch office and disappeared into thin air. As for the branch manager, Mr. Shadrach Abugri, nobody knows where he is till date.

As law-abiding citizens, a complaint was made to the police and Hon. Daniel Kwame Gariba was arrested and subsequently granted bail. The matter was sent to court and none of the defendants made an appearance. A default judgment was pronounced in favour of the plaintiffs on 20th December, 2017. The court presided over by his Honour P.D. Gomashie (ESQ) , a Circuit Judge at Bawku ruled that “ the plaintiffs recover from the defendants the sum of four hundred and fifty thousand Ghana cedis (GHC450,000.00) as monies the plaintiffs invested with the defendants , damages of thirty six thousand Ghana cedis (36,000.00) and cost of eighteen thousand Ghana cedis (GHC18,000.00).

The director of COMAID and current DCE for Builsa South, Hon. Daniel Gariba was served with the judgment. Our checks at the registrar’s office of the Bawku Circuit Court revealed that the defendants never made a response to the judgment. However, Hon. Daniel Kwame Gariba promised us that we should pray for him to be nominated as DCE for Builsa South so that he could get money to pay us. We prayed for him and God granted our request. By the special grace of God, he was nominated and subsequently endorsed as the DCE for Builsa South.

Unfortunately, ever since he became the DCE, the matter has escalated. He never answers our calls. As a matter of fact, he told us that by virtue of his position as a DCE, there is nothing we can do to him. Simply put he will not pay the monies because he is now a DCE. Is this what political power is meant for? To suppress the weak and cheat the citizens on whose taxes you feed fats?

We want to send a strong reminder to Hon. Daniel Gariba that the truth is on our side because he is feeding on our hard earned monies and God will surely fight for us because our God is a just God.

Most of the victims and their relatives are currently going through frustration and hardship because their life savings is what they used to invest with COMAID Microfinance company.

Once again, we call on the president of the Republic, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo is swiftly intervene on this urgent matter.

God bless our Homeland Ghana.

Thank you.