Returnees appeal to government to help retrieve savings

Returnees from Libya in the Brong Ahafo Region have appealed to the government to help them recover large sums of money they saved with the Ghana Embassy in that country.

They said the money would enhance their early resettlement. In a statement, the returnees, who have formed an association to seek their welfare, said that they, in collaboration with the consulate, devised a method of saving part of their earnings with the embassy because of rampant attacks on them by gangs.

The returnees said regulations on the possession of United States dollars in Libya were cumbersome and they were sometimes arrested and monies found on them seized by the police. The statement said the system they adopted to save some money went on well for four years until the transfer of the consul, whose name the statement gave only as Mohammed.

Mr Issifu Issaka, who replaced him, reported on June 13, after a few months in office that the money was missing. The statement said on July 2, a meeting of all who had accounts at the embassy was convened by the consulate which was addressed by a Mr Ibrahim Yakubu, who claimed to be a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

It said in the middle of the discussion, armed policemen suddenly appeared on the scene, and arrested 120 of them for no apparent reason, while the rest managed to escape. The statement said on the orders of the consul, those arrested were imprisoned for allegedly demonstrating against him, and all efforts to recover the money have proved futile.