8 Microfinance firms crash; 200 Allegedly swindled in Ho
More than 200 people believed to have been swindled by eight microfinance companies in the Volta Region yesterday staged a massive demonstration in Ho to demand a refund of their deposits with the companies.
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The demonstrators, mainly petty traders and artisans, called on the government to intervene and arrest managers of the microfinance companies and compel them to refund their money.
Clad in red clothes, the demonstrators carried placards with inscriptions such as “We need our money back”; “No help, no vote”; and “We have been robbed of our money”.
After marching through some of the principal streets of Ho, they converged on the Volta Regional Co-ordinating Council (VRCC), where they presented a petition to the council.
The demonstrators could not indicate the total amount which they had invested in the eight microfinance companies.
The companies alleged to have swindled some of their customers are Littledrops Investment Club, Prosperity and Good Health Development Winners, Royal Foundation, Global Leads, Royal Care, Marceph Wealth, JODEQ Network Clear Image and Divine.
The microfinance schemes are said to have promised to give their clients huge returns on their deposits.
Persons who invested at least GH¢450 were promised returns between GH¢5,000 and GH¢6,000 within five months.
A client who was able to invest at least GH¢450 and was able to convince 10 people to sign on to the investment scheme could earn GH¢6,000 returns on his or her investment within three to five months.
Some of the customers who invested in the scheme early were able to recoup their investments, a development that encouraged more people to join the scheme.
The juicy nature of the schemes attracted more people, some of whom went for loans from banks to invest.
A seamstress, who gave her name only as Ahiaba, said she invested GH¢20,000 with Littledrops Investment Club, Prosperity and Good Health Development Winners but had not received a cedi from her investment, a situation which had made life unbearable for her.
Offices Closed Down
According to the leader of the demonstrators, Maxwell Dzronku, who presented the petition to the VRCC, the known offices of the microfinance companies had not been operational since last year and all efforts to trace the managers had proved futile.
He indicated that the networks had been convincing because they had documents from the Registrar General’s Department, the Bank of Ghana and municipal assemblies, which portrayed them to be doing genuine business.
The government agencies, he said, had failed to monitor the activities of those companies, leading to the scam.
“We are, therefore, calling on the government to come to our aid and bring them to book to pay all our bonuses as promised because they traded with our money for years and made a lot of dividends,” he said.
Investigate partner banks
The group also called on the government to investigate certain banks, such as Stanbic Bank, the Fidelity Bank and the Unity Rural Bank, which allegedly partnered the firms.
The Director of the Economic Unit of the VRCC, Mr Christopher Afenyo, received the petition on behalf of the regional minister and assured the aggrieved clients that their concerns would be directed to the appropriate quarters for redress.