Ayariga petitions parliament over government's failure to pay Gold Coast Fund customers

Bawku Central Member of Parliament (MP), Mahama Ayariga, has petitioned Parliament to look into the delay in release of funds for the payment of 61,000 customers of Blackshield Capital Limited, formerly known as Gold Coast Fund Management (GCFM) owned by Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom.

He presented the petition on behalf of Charles Nyame (convenor), Bernard Agyekum, Nathaniel Mensah, David Opoku, and Rosemond Mensah Grunitzky, who are members of an organization known as Aggrieved Customers of Defunct Gold Coast Fund Management.

He wants the House to "investigate and establish what has accounted for the Government failure to pay the customers of the defunct Gold Cost Fund Management," as well as compel "the Government to pay the customers of the defunct Gold Coast Fund Management their investments in the fund since Parliament approved the budget."

"The Gold Coast Fund Management was a duly registered and accredited fund management company regulated by the Securities Exchange Commission of Ghana" Ayariga noted.

The funds of the petitioners, valued at about GHC5 billion were locked up in the defunct Gold Coast Fund Management following the decision of the Government of Ghana through the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, to carry out a financial sector cleanup exercise initiated in 2018.

Following the financial sector cleanup exercise, the petitioners successfully submitted and validated their claims through Price Waterhouse and Coppers (PWC).

The Regulator (SEC) budgeted an amount of GHC8 billion for the total payment of the claims of customers of all the 47 defunct fund management companies.

Parliament approved funds for the Financial Sector Cleanup Exercise, and the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning publicly reported that he has completed the exercise and has expended Ghc25 billion in this regard.

Government’s accounting showed that this sum included the Ghc8.6 billion meant to pay claims of investors in the 47 defunct fund management companies, including Gold Coast Fund Management.

In his petition, Mr Ayariga noted that unfortunately, individual members of the petitioners’ association whose investment exceeded GH¢50,000 have not been paid the remainder of their money "because the government paid only GH¢50,000.00 to everyone owed in 2020."

"Many members of the petitioners’ association had gone on pension and invested all their retirement benefits in the fund and have consequently been rendered destitute, and many have died not being able to afford critically needed medical care," he noted.

Meanwhile, the aggrieved customers of Gold Coast Fund Management are set to stage a protest at the Ministry of Finance on November 28, 2023, over delayed funds from the defunct company.

GA/SARA

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