The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has pledged that the Mahama-government will pay all customers of the collapsed financial institutions whose monies are locked-up in full following the financial sector cleanup should they come into office.

Addressing the media at the party's weekly press briefing on Monday, the National Communications Officer, Sammy Gyamfi said the Akufo-Addo government has failed Ghanaians.

Thus, the country is in dire need of John Dramani Mahama as its leader since he is visionary and trustworthy.

“John Mahama is committed to fixing the mess that has been created by the maladministration of the Akufo-Addo government in all sectors of the nation and deliver the transformational leadership that is needed to create prosperity and wealth for all Ghanaians.

“As he has announced through his digital conversations with the nation in the last few months, former President Mahama when elected shall pay all customers of the collapsed financial institutions whose monies are locked-up in full and restore indigenous Ghanaian participation in the financial sector.”

Mr. Mahama, in one of his periodic digital conversations, said his government will refund depositors’ funds in the shortest possible time should he be elected president in the 2020 presidential polls.

“We believe that we do owe depositors. When I come into government, we will make sure we will pay depositors their monies within the shortest possible time,” he said.

Banking crisis

The Akufo-Addo administration initiated a financial sector clean up in August 2017 which led to the collapse of nine universal banks, 347 microfinance companies, 39 microcredit companies or money lenders, 15 savings and loans companies, eight finance house companies, and two non-bank financial institutions.

In 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the revocation of licenses of 53 Fund Management Companies.

The total estimated cost of the state’s fiscal intervention, excluding interest payments, from 2017 to 2019 was pegged at GH¢16.4 billion.

Although the Bank of Ghana has attributed the cause of the collapse of the said financial institutions to mismanagement amongst other factors, clients and customers who were transacting business with these institutions are in distress since many of them have been struggling to retrieve their savings and investments.