Customers of Onward Investment Limited demonstrates against company

Sunyani, April 25, GNA – More than 200 customers of Onward Investment Limited, a defunct financial company, on Wednesday demonstrated through some principal streets of Sunyani in protest against the failure of Bank of Ghana (BoG) to refund their deposits.

The financial company which operated in some parts of Brong Ahafo Region was closed down by the central bank for inappropriate operations.

The demonstrators, clad in red arm and head bands sang and danced to brass band music as they marched to the BoG premises where the leaders presented a statement to the regional head of the Bank.

Later in an interview with journalists, Pastor De-Graft Roger Sefa, Spokesperson for the customers, said he could not fathom why the bank's office in Sunyani had refused to repay the deposits to the customers as directed by the BoG headquarters.

He explained that Onward Investment Limited started operations in Sunyani on December 3 last year and many of the customers rushed to do business with the Company.

He said the unsuspecting customers continued doing business with the company until January this year when the BoG stopped the operations due to inappropriate certification of the company.

Pastor Sefa said despite the BoG directive, the company kept on doing business.

“If the decision by BoG to stop the company from operating had been made in a transparent manner through the media, customers would have advised themselves as to whether to continue transactions with the Company or not”, the spokesperson said.

He said the customers managed to know about BoG's directive stopping the operations of the Company only when they petitioned the Regional Minister in February this year and copied to the Municipal Chief Executive of Sunyani and Omanhene of Sunyani, Nana Bosoma Asor-Nkrawiri II to intervene on their behalf.

“It was after the Omanhene had written to BoG for verification of our concern that the customers learnt about the BoG's decision against the Company.

“We even read a letter from the Governor of the BoG directing the Management of the Onward Investment Limited to refund all deposits to the customers, before closure of the company,” he said.

Pastor Sefa expressed gratitude to the Omanhene and the Traditional Council for following up their petition, which unravelled the “shady” deal of the company.

He claimed that since it was BoG's action that compelled directors of the company to abscond with the investment of customers it expects the central bank to ensure the repayment of the deposits.

GNA