Aggrieved customers of the defunct Gold Coast Investment Fund Management Company have declared their intention to stage a continuous 32-hour protest at the Finance Ministry.
This is intended to urge Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta to release an alleged GHS 8.6 billion bailout sanctioned by Parliament.
The planned demonstration is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, November 28, 2023, at 11 a.m. and continue until 7 p.m. on Wednesday, November 29, 2023.
The protesters plan to assemble at Obra Spot, Circle Interchange in Accra, at 8 a.m., with transportation arranged to take them to the Finance Ministry at 10:30 a.m.
They assert that the time has come to assert their rights as citizens.
Background
The Gold Coast Investment Fund Management Company is part of the fifty-three (53) Fund Management Companies (FMCs) whose licences were revoked by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on November 8, 2019.
This action was taken in accordance with Section 122 (2) (b) of the Securities Industry Act 2016 (Act 929) (SIA).
The revocation was prompted by numerous regulatory violations, including the failure to reimburse clients’ funds, estimated at eight billion cedis (GHS 8 billion), and substantial breaches of applicable rules posing risks to financial stability.
The SEC, mandated to safeguard investors and the capital market’s integrity, executed the licence revocation.
In 2021, Parliament approved GH¢5.5 billion for the settlement of owed customers of fund management companies, though the funds are yet to be distributed to the customers.