Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, Global Chairman of Groupe Nduom and former owner of Gold Coast Fund Management Company, is calling on the government to settle a debt of GHS 7.1 billion owed to his bank and other subsidiaries. The debt accrued following the Bank of Ghana’s financial sector reforms in 2017, which resulted in the revocation of licenses of 53 fund management companies, including Gold Coast Fund Management.
The clean-up exercise, aimed at restoring stability and confidence in Ghana’s financial sector, led to the freezing of depositors’ funds. Dr. Nduom argues that his companies would not have collapsed if the government had paid contractors owed years ago.
During a recent media briefing, Dr. Nduom emphasized that a structured repayment plan from the government could revive GN Bank’s financial health, enabling it to repay its creditors and depositors. He stated, “A debt that used to be GHS 1.8 billion is now more than GHS 7.1 billion. It is growing every day with interest. So the government of Ghana and its agencies, if they had paid us even one-third of that money to the contractors six years ago, there wouldn’t be a Gold Coast or Black Shield problem.”
Dr. Nduom added, “There wouldn’t be a GN Bank problem, there wouldn’t be a problem with any of our companies. So today, what we are saying is, let them pay the money. If the government doesn’t have the money, let us come up with a payment plan. They pay us, the customers get paid.”
