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Menzgold Customers Reject Payment Plan Citing Credibility Issues

General News Menzgold Customers Reject Payment Plan Citing Credibility Issues
DEC 19, 2019 LISTEN

Aggrieved customers of Menzgold Ghana Limited have rejected the payment plan published by the gold dealership firm.

According to them the schedule lacks credibility and failed to capture their demands.

This comes after the company promised to make payments from December 27 beginning with customers whose investments matured in September.

In an interview with Citi News, a spokesperson of the coalition of aggrieved customers of Menzgold, Fredrick Forson explained that the schedule is nothing but a deceptive strategy by the company.

“What the customers are saying is that Menzgold decided to throw anything out there to the public and the issue about employing one Akuffo to do the payment were all inaccurate. The payment plan was just a piece of paper thrown out to the unsuspecting customers,” he said.

Meanwhile the lawyer of Menzgold, Kwame Akuffo has renounced the role posed on his firm by the company.

The firm, Kwame Akuffo and Co. Unlimited was instructed by Menzgold in the release to oversee the payment to customers within 36 months.

But reacting to this instruction in a release, the firm indicated that it lacks the capacity to carry out the function posed on it.

Menzgold to begin payment by December 27

Menzgold has said it will from Friday, December 27, 2019, begin paying customers their locked up funds which have been in arrears for the past three years.

The company since its collapse in 2018 following a suspension order from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been struggling to refund monies invested by the customers.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the company explained what it termed as a 'reverse mechanism' as the payment plan and formula to be used for the monies to be disbursed.

“Payments shall be made strictly following a 'reverse mechanism' which implies from the last day (month) of our business operations to the very day when our business commenced. Thus from 12th September 2019 to 18th March 2013. To this end, we shall start to settle all transactions in September 2019 and those who didn't access extra values as we proceed in the first above described mode and manner.”

Menzgold and customers on payment modalities

Earlier, Menzgold asked the leadership of groups formed by its customers to solicit inputs from the disgruntled members as it works on the modalities to pay back locked up investments.

It said the move was part of “their ongoing broad consultation, with the CEO together with management, the general public, government, and internal and external stakeholders.”

At the time, the aggrieved customers were disappointed at the company's decision to announce plans to publish a payment schedule without their views.

They also vowed to kick against any payment plan that fails to promise a 100% retrieval of their locked up investments.

Validation

A validation exercise was recently undertaken by the company as part of an internal auditing process to pave the way for payment of claims.

Some customers had mounted pressure on the company to announce a detailed payment plan.

According to them, that was the only way they can repose confidence in the company to refund their locked up investments.

Meanwhile, beleaguered Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Menzgold Nana Appiah Mensah is standing trial for defrauding his customers of about GHc1.68 billion.

According to the charge sheet, the money was from about 16,000 people who invested a total of GHc1,680,920,000 in the company.

The charge sheet indicates that Mr. Appiah Mensah's two companies — Brew Marketing Consult and Menzgold Ghana Limited; represented by him, have also been charged with defrauding by false pretense, contrary to sections 20 (1) and 13 (1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).

---citinewsroom

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