Speaker sets up ad-hoc committee to investigate delayed funds of Gold Coast Fund customers

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has set up a 7-member ad hoc committee of parliament to look into issues surrounding the failure of the government to pay customers of the defunct Gold Coast Fund.

The committee would be chaired by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Essikado-Ketan and former Attorney General and Minister of Justices, Joe Ghartey.

The other members of the committee include MP for Odododiodioo Nii Lante Vanderpuye, MP for Tano South Benjamin Yeboah Sekyere, Awutu Senya West MP Gizella Akushika Tetteh-Agbotui and Sunyani East MP Kwasi Ameyaw-Cheremeh.

Dr Theo Acheampong, an economist and a political risk analyst, and Antonio Kisseh, the remaining two members of the committee, will be providing technical support.

The setting up of the committee comes after Bawku Central MP Mahama Ayariga 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.

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 GH¢8 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 GH¢25 billion in this regard.

Government’s accounting showed that this sum included the GH¢8.6 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."

BAI/NOQ

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