Mr Mahama Ayariga, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Bawku Central, has petitioned Parliament on behalf of individual Ghanaian citizens numbering over 61,000 customers of Black shield Capital Limited, hitherto known as Gold Coast Fund Management (GCFM). The GCFM was owned by Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom. The petition indicated that the individuals were members of an organisation known as Aggrieved Customers of Defunct Gold Coast Fund Management. The petition, therefore, prays that Parliament should investigate and establish what has accounted for the Government failure to pay the customers of the defunct Gold Coast Fund Management. It urged the House to compel the Government to pay the customers of the defunct Gold Coast Fund Management their investments in the fund since Parliament approved the budget request by Government. It said the Gold Coast Fund Management was a duly registered and accredited fund management company regulated by the Securities Exchange Commission of Ghan a. It noted that the funds of the petitioners valued at about GHS5 billion was locked up in the defunct Gold Coast Fund Management following the decision of the Government of Ghana through the Ministry of Finance to carry out a financial sector cleanup exercise initiated in 2018. The petition said following the financial sector cleanup exercise the petitioners successfully submitted and validated their claims through Price Waterhouse and Coppers (PWC). It said the Regulator (SEC) budgeted an amount of Eight Billion Ghana Cedis (GHS8 billion) for total payment of the claims of customers of all the 47 defunct fund management companies It said the House approved finds for the Financial Sector Cleanup Exercise and the Minister of Finance publicly reported that he had completed the exercise and has expended GHS25 billion in this regard. It said Government's accounting showed that this sum included the GHS8.6 billion meant to pay claims of investors in the 47 defunct fund management companies including Gold Co ast Fund Management. The petition said unfortunately, individual members of the petitioners' association whose investment exceeded GHS50,000.00 had not been paid the remainder of their money because the Government paid only GHS50,000.00 to everyone owed in 2020. 'Many members of the petitioners' association had gone on pension and invested all their retirement benefits in the fund and have consequently been rendered destitute and many have died not being able to afford critically needed medical care,' it stated. Source: Ghana News Agency