The Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah, has reaffirmed his resolve to ensure that customers of First allied Savings and Loans Company do not lose their monies.
He explained that, a meeting with the management of the Company and officials of the Central Bank in the region, will be convened to address the challenges facing the savings and loans company.
He made these comments after some aggrieved customers presented a petition to him over locked up funds.
According to him, he remains committed to ensure that the company pays depositors their monies after the stakeholders meeting.
“We will do our best as to what we can within the region and also communicate with the authorities above us and make sure that the necessary actions are taken to ensure that we reduce or minimize whatever suffering the people are going to face, and also to ensure that First Allied will pay the depositors their monies.” he said.
The Ashanti Regional Minister explained that for some of the customers of the Savings and Loans Company, their locked up monies is all they have, hence the need to ensure their monies are not lost because such a situation could ultimately lead to the death of some customers.
“I strongly believe that some of them this is all they have. This is the fortune they have gathered all of their lives and if they should lose this several people might even lose their lives and that will be the end of them. We are not going to sit down to see this happen. We are going to meet the management of First Allied and also the representatives of the Central bank within the region and try as much as possible to solve this problem.”
Citi News’ Hafiz Tijani reported today [ Tuesday 2nd October 2018] that over fifty customers marched through the principal streets of the Kumasi metropolis to demonstrate against management’s failure to release their funds.
First allied savings customers petition Asantehene
Two weeks ago, the aggrieved customers of the savings and loans company petitioned the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, over their locked-up investments.
There was heavy security at the palace as the over 100 customers flooded the Asantehene’s palace to express their displeasure.
According to some customers, the situation is negatively affecting their livelihoods, hence the need for the intervention of the Asantehene, the Bank of Ghana and President Nana Akufo-Addo to intervene.
Other branches of the firm have been met with agitation from customers.
In July, customers who visited the Adabraka branch in Accra, were given less than 10 percent of amounts they wanted to withdraw.
More recently, customers of First Allied Savings and Loans in the Upper East Region called Bank of Ghana (BoG) to investigate the management of the Bank over its inability to pay its customers for the past three months.
The customers besieged the Bolgatanga branch of the company demanding their unpaid investments.