Some market women and traders at the Koforidua Central market who were customers of defunct Fanteakwa Rural Bank have resurfaced with fresh agitations over their locked-up savings.
The agitating victims have called on President Akufo-Addo and the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin as well as the Bank of Ghana to help them retrieve their monies.
Fanteakwa Rural Bank owned by the incumbent MP for Fanteakwa North Amankwah Asiamah was established in the year 2004 but collapsed in 2012.
The Bank had its headquarters at Begoro and branches in Koforidua, Osiem, Suhum, Anyinam, and other parts of the region.
It is estimated that over 1,000 customers had their funds locked up.
The victims are mostly farmers, traders, drivers, teachers, fetish priests, small-scale miners, and small-scale enterprises.
The locked-up funds unleashed hardship on the victims some of whom died as a result while affected small scale enterprises collapsed
Most of the customers had between five hundred Ghana cedis (GHS500.00) and twenty-seven thousand Ghana cedis (GHS27,000.00) locked up in the collapsed bank.
Many demonstrations were staged particularly before the 2016 election by the victims to exert pressure on the then Opposition lawmaker to refund their locked-up fund. Some victims received their funds but many others have still not received theirs.
Addressing the media in Koforidua, the aggrieved victims, numbering about twenty (20), chastised the lawmaker for failing to initiate plans of paying back customers.
According to them, several attempts to get their funds refunded have proven futile as they accused the MP of even failing to respond to their calls.
A 72-year old trader Elizabeth Amoah, narrating her ordeal to the media, revealed the MP promised to refund her money after the 2020 general elections but has since refused to even respond to her calls.
“I went to Begoro during the 2020 campaign season to demand my money but the MP apologized to me and promised to pay it soon after the election is over. It is sad to inform you that, the MP has not been picking my calls since after the elections, which he won,” she lamented.
She added “how can I be defrauded by an MP of my GHC12,000.000 after so many years of savings and be walking freely as a lawmaker. I am appealing to President Akufo-Addo and the Speaker to speak to Amankwah Asiamah to refund my money or we shall gather ourselves at the Jubilee House and Parliament to demand our money”.
Another victim stated “we are pleading with President Akufo Addo and the speaker, Kennedy Agyapong to intervene I am a strong NPP supporter but this MP is treating us bad. During the 2020 election I went to Begoro with my daughter to see the MP he snubbed us, I cried why should we be treated like this ”
Several other traders shared their harrowing situation including collapsed marriages as a result of hardship the locked-up funds brought upon them.
The Member of Parliament for Fanteakwa North Amankwah Asiamah who was the Chief Executive Officer of the collapsed Bank declined to comment on the latest agitations
But had earlier denied loaning deposits of the victims to sponsor Nana Akufo Addo’s campaign as alleged in 2012, hence the collapse as is peddled.
According to the MP, it is also incorrect that the bank owes over 1,000 customers explaining that his outfit managed to refund deposits of the majority of the customers.
Source :Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/Kojo Ansah