General News
Menzgold customers to embark on demo today over 4-yr locked-up cash
Members of the Coalition of Aggrieved Customers of Menzgold are set to embark on a demonstration exercise today, Monday, September 12, 2022, to the Jubilee House over their locked-up monies.
As today marks exactly four years since the gold dealership firm, Menzgold was collapsed by the government; customers say efforts made towards the retrieval of their monies have been unsuccessful.
Spokesperson of the group, Fred Forson spoke to Citi News on modalities for the presentation of a petition to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
“We will converge at 9am at the Customs traffic light. From there, we will do a walk through the Ministries to the Black Stars Square. There, we shall have a press briefing. At 11am, we will present our petition. It is exactly four years since Menzgold was collapsed and for four years, we have done whatever we could but it appears there are no results. So this time around, we want to petition the president for a presidential intervention.”
Menzgold was asked to suspend its gold trading operations with the public by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2018.
According to the SEC, Menzgold had been dealing in the purchase and deposit of gold collectibles from the public and issuing contracts with guaranteed returns with clients, without a valid license from the Commission.
The SEC said this was in contravention of “section 109 of Act 929 with consequences under section 2016 (I) of the same Act.”
Menzgold customers have in the past bemoaned the lack of commitment on the part of the government to have their monies paid to them.
They are also unhappy about the delay in the prosecution of Menzgold’s CEO, Nana Appiah Mensah.
We won’t pay Menzgold customers’ locked up cash – Finance Minister
The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori–Atta, had earlier stated that government will not pay customers of Menzgold.
He said such people invested their monies in Menzgold at their own peril.
Mr. Ofori-Atta said the customers of Menzgold were driven by greed, since the returns on investment promised by the company were unrealistic.
“As we try to clean up the financial services centre, I know the SEC has come down hard, strong, and justifiably on Menzgold. But the issue with a company of Menzgold…it’s become an issue of greed as a people and our own behaviour when we are so clear as educated as we might be that when we went there, there was no license.”
“I think it is not in the place of government to fund or get your money back for you. It was an obvious trap that you went into. Maybe we as an industry should also push the whole issue of education and empowerment so that people do not fall prey to that,” he added.
Sourcce: citinewsroom.com
General News
9 killed, several others injured in an accident at Ho
A terrible accident occurred at the base of Galenkui Mountain in Ho, claiming the lives of nine people, including babies.
The terrifying occurrence occurred as a 207 Benz was transporting goods and passengers from Abotoase to Sogakofe.
The car encountered brake failure while descending the mountain, culminating in a collision with a Zoomlion garbage truck.
Initial reports verified seven fatalities at the disaster scene, including newborns and children.
Following that, Mary Dzifa, a nurse at Ho Municipal Hospital, informed Citi News that roughly ten children had died in the disaster.
“I was at our facility yesterday, November 22, when a car rushed in with dead and injured children and injured adults, especially men. Some were attended to at the facility, and the rest who were severely injured were taken to the Ho Teaching Hospital. The dead children will be about 10.”
Officials at the Ho Teaching Hospital said that 32 people were admitted for injuries incurred, with 9 dying as a result of their injuries.
Amos Jah, the Public Relations Officer of Ho Teaching Hospital, said that the injured patients are receiving medical attention and making progress in their rehabilitation.
“I received a call from a friend yesterday who was going back to town and that he saw the accident, so I quickly informed the nurses to be on alert. Some were brought in with pickups, ambulance, tricycles; the situation was very bad, some had broken limbs, some heads almost being severed, some were bleeding from all parts of the body. After two hours, we were able to calm the situation down.”
“We had a total of 30 accident victims brought here. Two others were brought from the Municipal Hospital this morning, making it 32 in all. My information is that we lost 9 of them, 4 are kids and 5 are adults. For the kids, three were brought in dead. Those injured are responding to treatment.”
General News
This was avoidable – Bonaa on fatal clashes in Nkwanta
Dr Adam Bonaa, a security expert, has requested the Oti Regional Minister to restrict all public events in Nkwanta in response to the riots that have taken eight lives.
The fights, in his opinion, were avoidable.
“The Regional Minister and his men must make certain that this never happens again.” This was avoidable, yet 8 people died as a result,” he remarked on TV3’s Ghana Tonight on Tuesday, November 21.
He further suggested that “It is important to suspend all public activities that are likely to take place by the two factions, this is the surest way of letting them know that there is an authority within Nkwanta and the region.”
The Oti Regional Security Council (REGSEC) will host an emergency security meeting today, Wednesday, November 22, in response to the Nkwanta riots.
Regional Minister Joshua Gmayenaam Makubu, appearing on the Ghana Tonight show on TV3 on Tuesday, November 21, verified the number of dead and described the pandemonium as “ethnic clashes.”
“Tomorrow we are going to have an emergency security meeting again, ” he further said.
He also disclosed that there had been conflicts in town two weeks earlier between members of two tribes, Adele and Akyode.
Following the conflicts, the Minister of the Interior, Ambrose Dery, acted on the advice of the REGSEC and via Executive Instrument to impose a curfew on Nkwanta township.
The curfew will be in force from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday, November 21.
On Tuesday, November 21, an attacker opened fire in the town’s central market area.
Several people have been murdered and others have been injured as a result of the incident.
The Oti Regional Security Council dispatched officers to the region to handle the situation.
“Government wishes to appeal to all to exercise restraint and to use the established mechanisms for the resolution of all their conflicts and disputes.
“Meanwhile, the Government will like to reiterate that, there is a ban on all persons in Nkwanta Township and its environs from carrying arms, ammunition or any offensive weapons and any persons found with any arms or ammunition will be arrested and prosecuted,” the Minister said.
General News
I never indicated my house was sold – Speaker of Parliament
Alban Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, has categorically rejected selling his official house to a private developer.
He then stated that his home was “almost sold” to a private developer.
The Speaker of Parliament recently revealed that his Accra home was sold to a private developer while he was still living there.
He said this only came to light when the developer went to the Lands Commission to register the land on Monday at the Speaker’s Breakfast Forum in Accra.
However, the Lands Commission claimed in a statement that “at no time did the Lands Commission sell the said property to a private developer.”
In a recent meeting with civil society organisations, the Speaker emphasised that his official house was on the verge of being turned over to a developer except for the intervention of the Lands Commission.
“I didn’t say my residence was sold. That was not what I said. This was just a comment in passing when I said it was almost sold but luckily, I was in possession. And I said it was when they went to Lands Commission that they realised from the search that it was the residence of the Speaker,” Alban Bagbin clarified.