Sixteen months after President John Dramani Mahama promised to reimburse customers whose funds were locked up in collapsed financial institutions, aggrieved customers say the commitment remains unfulfilled, deepening frustration among thousands of affected investors.

During the 2024 election campaign, then-candidate John Mahama pledged that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government would settle all outstanding claims within the first year of taking office.

“I pledge on behalf of the NDC that we shall, within one year of being in office, pay all funds that have been locked up with the collapsed financial institutions,” he said at the time.

The promise had renewed hope among victims of the financial sector clean-up, many of whom lost investments, businesses and livelihoods following the collapse of several banks, savings and loans companies, and fund management firms.

However, recent comments by Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson on JoyNews' PM Express have cast doubt over government’s ability to honour the pledge.

Speaking on the matter, the Finance Minister questioned whether the state should assume responsibility for liabilities arising from privately managed financial institutions.

“The money must come from somewhere. Tell me, what am I cutting to pay the person who gave his investment to a private person to mismanage?” he asked.

He further stated: “Government has no business going into that and taking those responsibilities to pay. In fact, we do not even have the money to do that.”

The comments have triggered backlash from some affected customers, who insist government cannot walk away from the President’s campaign promise.

Convener of the Aggrieved Customers of Gold Coast Fund Management, Charles Nyame, said many victims now feel betrayed by the administration’s silence on the matter.

“Most of our members are tempted to think that maybe the President lied his way through to the presidency,” he said.

According to him, repeated attempts to seek clarity from the Presidency have yielded no response.
He also rejected suggestions that the burden should not fall on government, arguing that state regulators were responsible for supervising the institutions involved.

Nyame further argued that the roots of the financial sector crisis predated the banking sector clean-up undertaken by the previous NPP administration, claiming warnings had already been issued before 2017 about vulnerabilities in the sector.