Former Deputy Finance Minister, Professor George Gyan Baffour has called on the Bonk of Ghana (BoG) to consider a bail-out for victims of the micro-finance crisis in the Brong Ahafo Region.
Prof Gyan Baffour says “there is no law that prevents the BoG from doing bailing out the victims so Bank of Ghana should bail out victims of micro finance crisis”.
A number of Ghanaians, especially in the Brong Ahafo and the three northern regions, fell victim to a ponzi scheme by the micro finance companies and lost their deposits.
President Mahama in his State of the Nation Address blamed the Central Bank for failing to supervise the companies. He asked the BoG to pay the victims the actual capital they deposited without interest.
But the Governor of Bank of Ghana Dr. Kofi Wampah told parliamentarians the bank is not responsible for what happened.
He however said the bank is in the process of liquidating the assets of the company to pay off depositors.
Speaking on the issue on Onua FM’s Yen Sempa hosted by Kwame Karikari on Thursday, the Member of Parliament for Wenchi Constituency in the Brong Ahafo Region, Prof Gyan Baffour said the total amount involved in the fiasco is about GHS115m.
According to him, it should not be difficult for the central bank to pay off the depositors.
He said the moral hazard demands that BoG comes in with a bail-out as people are dying because of the crisis.
Story by Kweku Antwi-Otoo/Onu FM