The Finance Minister, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, has absolved government of blame in the collapse of Gold Coast Fund Management and other defunct institutions.
According to him, “you cannot expect government to take the entire responsibility” because “individuals also did not do due diligence before investing in the companies that they invested in.”
The remarks by the Finance Minister follow earlier demands for compensation by the investors for their losses following the closure of the banks.
Despite their continuous efforts, they have been faced with significant challenges in recovering their investments.
But Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, speaking during the Greater Accra Townhall Meeting said government will meet them halfway in its bid to address their grievances.
“The customers of the defunct Gold Coast [Fund Management] and the other fund managers… their funds got locked up… Government does not have responsibility over the investment decisions of individuals.”
“Government doesn’t say ‘you’ve decided to invest your money here; it didn’t come out the way you wanted so government should come and take up the debt’. It doesn’t work that way,” he said on Tuesday, August 6, 2024 in Accra.
He partly admitted that when the regulators fail their oversight responsibilities, government must intervene but there cannot be a full blame of the state for their losses.
“People have said that if they were not liquidated, they wouldn’t have found themselves in those problem. People have said that if the regulators were doing their work, they wouldn’t have fallen into those problems.”
“Yes, when regulators do not work, then government takes responsibility because the regulators are government,” he added.
Bailout for aggrieved customers
The Ministry of Finance has announced that it is preparing a new bailout package for investors of the defunct Gold Coast Fund.
Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam made this statement during the Greater Accra Townhall Meeting, where he said GHC1.5 billion will be disbursed from the month of August this year.
“First, we did 50,000 cedis per person and this month, August, the government has decided that we should provide another bailout. Therefore, we are going to disburse 1.5 billion Ghana cedis to those who were affected. So, we are doing our part, but we cannot take the entire responsibility,” he assured.
