The Coalition of Aggrieved Customers of Menzgold (CACM) in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem of the Western Region has descended heavily on the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo-led government for failing to pay their locked up investments.
On Tuesday, October 20, 2020, Tarkwa branch of Menzgold customers appealed to the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate John Dramani Mahama to pay their locked up investments if elected president.
Some of the customers took to the principal streets of Tarkwa amidst a brass band with placards to press home their demand for relief.
Some of the inscriptions on the placards read;
"Who owns Metalica Refinery, Menzgold Customers deserve better; Government did you close down Menzgold to dupe customers?; Menzgold Customers deserve better, equal justice before the laws of Ghana; over 75 Menzgold Customers dead and thousands bed-ridden; SEC if you have bailed out the licensed then bailout the unlicensed, SEC Law 929".
According to them, it's discriminatory on the part of the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), and for that matter, the government to exclude Mezgold from the recent bailout package offered by the fund management and savings and loans companies.
Speaking exclusively to GhanaWeb's Western Regional Correspondent after a peaceful protest on Saturday, the National Chairman of the coalition Isaac Nyarko argued that the law was explicit on their condition.
"Act 929 gives an indication of the regulators' responsibility owed us," he said.
"We need to embark on this journey to sensitize the people of Ghana that Menzgold customers have a good case and that we need to be bailout once the law makes it clear that those who are unlicensed and SEC has satisfactory admitted that they need to regulate them those people also fall under SEC control and once SEC has instructed Menzgold to pay us and collapsed Menzgold and did not bail us, SEC is not been fair to us. Once SEC has been able to bailout the licence companies that have been collapsed", he added.
"The same law says that once we all fall under the same law for consideration if one party has been considered we also need to be considered.
"Act 929 shows it clearly that Menzgold customers once SEC has admitted that they are supposed to regulate them, we fall under whatever compensation, whatever consideration that SEC will give to the licensure SEC has to give to unlicensed as well so Menzgold customers also need to be a bailout. That is why we want to sensitize Ghanaians that look where we have gotten to; we can't be treated unfairly. We need to be treated fairly like any other Ghanaian", he reiterated.
He, therefore, claimed that "Even the President admits that the regulators fail in their duties and so once he the president has failed and has assured all Ghanaians that all depositors will have their money, we Ghanaians, we Menzgold customers should also have our money. We Menzgold customers should also have our money. We are protected by the law. We are protected by the law".
"As it says in Act 929 subsection 123 A, B and C, it protects us so we are embarking on these walks to sensitize Ghanaians, Government and SEC that we are also dying, we also need to be considered", he said.
Mr. Nyarko who became emotional chided President Akufo-Addo for failing to consider them.
"Just like the President is sharing money all around, the COVID 19 money that they are sharing all over, they have not even thought of what Menzgold customers are going through", he fired.
"What wrong have Menzgold customers done? What wrong have we done? What crime have we committed?", he quizzed.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo