Angry Midland customers besiege Shiashe branch for their monies

Scores of customers of trouble-hit financial institution Midland Savings and Loans Company have besieged the premises of the Shiashie branch of the firm to withdraw their monies.

The development comes on the back of the assault of a customer by a police officer who was on duty at the facility last week.

Lance Corporal Godzi Frederick Amanor brutishly assaulted the 36-year-old customer in the banking hall over a misunderstanding following her inability to withdraw GHC250.

A footage of Lance Corporal Amanor in uniform assaulting a woman with a baby strapped behind her on social media sparked outrage among Ghanaians over the weekend. The 1:26 seconds amateur video shows the officer, who had a gun with him, hitting the woman on the head repeatedly and slapping her at a point, despite a desperate attempt by an unidentified man to separate them.

Although the firm has apologised and suspended five of their staff over the incident, there have been calls by some Ghanaians on social media for customers to withdraw their funds from the company.

Starr News’ Eric Mawuena Egbeta who visited the Shiashie branch of the firm Monday reports that the angry customers are demanding their monies even though the branch is not operating today.

The Police officer involved is being prosecuted by the Police service.



Below is a statement by the firm

The management of Midland Savings and Loans is totally gutted and disgusted by an act of assault meted out to our cherished customer, Madam Patience Osafo at our East Legon Branch on 19th July 2018.

For more than twenty years, Midland Savings and Loans has supported small to medium scale businesses, various pro-poor projects, traders and other business people in the formal and informal sectors with deposit and loan products, financial and business advisory services that have been convenient, timely, worthy and relevant to the needs of our customers.

At the core of our work principles and values lies a strict attention to customer satisfaction on which we do not comprise under any circumstances whatsoever.

Sadly however, our equity in quality customer service built over years of business engagements was thrown to the dogs when a police officer assigned to our organization assaulted a customer at our East Legon branch in the evening of 19th July 2018.

As an organization, we do not condone assault of any form and totally condemn the barbaric act. We also regret to say that we find it totally shameful that our staff on duty at the time of the incident could not restrain the police officer from inflicting any further harm on our customer.

This is very sad for us.

We are by this release unreservedly apologising to the victim, her family and the general public. No one deserves to be treated that way under any circumstance whatsoever.

We are also ready and willing to cooperate fervently with the Ghana Police Service to ensure that the officer in question, who until this unfortunate incident had been one of the very best we ever worked with is reprimanded appropriately and in accordance with the disciplinary terms of the Ghana Police Service.

As an institution that prides itself in quality customer service, our staff on duty who were witnesses to this cruel act and could not to restrain the police officer or ensure the safety of our customer and the child will also be dealt with according to our internal disciplinary procedures. For this reason, all staff involved have been suspended as internal disciplinary procedures continue.

In the mean time, management have had initial discussions with representatives of Patience Osafo and the legal team are in the process of fashioning out an appropriate compensation package for our customer and same shall be communicated to her in due course.

Indeed there is no amount of recompense that can mitigate or even totally alleviate the pain and embarrassment meted out to our dear customer who only wanted her money. We are only hoping that these gestures will go a long way to express our deep remorse and promise that never again will such a barbaric act happen at any of our branches.

Thank you.

Signed

Isaac Mensah

Deputy Managing Director