Microfinance companies duping Ghanaians

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• Kentrick Patrick 11 years ago

  I told you so! Most of these micro finance(MF)are not doing the right thing. The central bank has to take some blame. BOG has to have policies to control these people.
  All comes back to - let the buyer be aware. The consumer ...
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  I told you so! Most of these micro finance(MF)are not doing the right thing. The central bank has to take some blame. BOG has to have policies to control these people.
  All comes back to - let the buyer be aware. The consumers have to ask questions.
  It is about time to flush the MFs from the system. The media has to take this up.

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• Kwadjoe, London 11 years ago

  The concept is good. It is the regulation that is lacking. Ghana govt must have structures on the ground that supports this initiatives. Eg small finance groups who help prepare the books of these entrepreneurs.

  The concept is good. It is the regulation that is lacking. Ghana govt must have structures on the ground that supports this initiatives. Eg small finance groups who help prepare the books of these entrepreneurs.

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• BIG - JOE -moscow/kharkov/minsk 11 years ago

  The source Nigerians in alliance with Ghanains so only the ignorants will be fooled ...I became a vistim in 1990 so am very suspiciuos of mushroom "susu" microfinace. The Govt nedd to resturucture this banking sector or expec ...
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  The source Nigerians in alliance with Ghanains so only the ignorants will be fooled ...I became a vistim in 1990 so am very suspiciuos of mushroom "susu" microfinace. The Govt nedd to resturucture this banking sector or expect worst things to come in years

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• EZEKIEL 11 years ago

  There's NO FREE LUNCH ! The MF Concept is good but as usual,the GOVT should make the conditions CLEAR under which these Institutions should operate!

  There's NO FREE LUNCH ! The MF Concept is good but as usual,the GOVT should make the conditions CLEAR under which these Institutions should operate!

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• Dadeekye 11 years ago

  Ignorance is no excuse. Financial freedom which is bases of "SAVE SAFE" is lacking in Ghanaian concept of trading. Instead of applying the concept of "aim small, miss small", they rather go big and when they hit the wall, the ...
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  Ignorance is no excuse. Financial freedom which is bases of "SAVE SAFE" is lacking in Ghanaian concept of trading. Instead of applying the concept of "aim small, miss small", they rather go big and when they hit the wall, they come back to blame on high rates. Trading/Commerce thrives on financial discipline.

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• Objective! 11 years ago

  No, 5% per month translates to 80% because of compounding. These finance houses must be made to be more transparent.

  No, 5% per month translates to 80% because of compounding. These finance houses must be made to be more transparent.

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• CV 11 years ago

  Theatricals
  
  Presiding Judge Atuguba cautions Bawumia to stop the "theatricals." He says some of those comments are superfluous.
  
  Quarshie-Idun requests for a recess but presiding judge Atuguba asks him to proceed until 1 ...
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  Theatricals
  
  Presiding Judge Atuguba cautions Bawumia to stop the "theatricals." He says some of those comments are superfluous.
  
  Quarshie-Idun requests for a recess but presiding judge Atuguba asks him to proceed until 1230. He proceeds.
  
  Quarshie-Idun brings out another pink sheet which indicated that all the voters who voted in that polling station were not verified. He says the figures on the pink sheet show an error on the part of the presiding officer and not that people had voted without being verified.
  
  Bawumia insists that on the face of the pink sheet all the voters in that particular polling station voted without biometric verification. He says neither himself nor counsel for the second respondent was at that particular polling station and so the only thing to rely on is the pink sheet. He says on the face of the pink sheet all the voters in that polling station voted without being biometrically verified.
  
  Quarshie Idun asks for a break. Judge William Atuguba grants him.
  
  Court goes on recess at 1230 to return at 1330
  
  1335 Court resumes
  
  Quarshie Idun continues from where he left off and on the issue of voting without verification.
  
  He asks Bawumia to affirm that the biometric machine keeps records of the time verified and the bio-data details of the prospective voter.
  
  Bawumia answers in the affirmative.
  
  Quarshie-Idun then tenders in an exhibit of a pink sheet on which he would cross-examine the witness on the issue of biometric verification.
  
  Objection
  
  Philip Addison raises an objection to the tendering of the document. He describes it as self serving. He says petitioners cannot authenticate the document and advises counsel of the second respondent to wait if it gets to the turn of his witness then he can tender it.
  
  Judge Atuguba agrees with the objection.
  
  Quarshie Idun then withdraws the document. Philip Addison goes ahead to plead with the court to strike out answers earlier provided by the witness on the withdrawn document.
  
  Quarshie-Idun says the answers were only about how the biometric verification machine works and that is relevant to his is cross examination. He pleads that the court allow the answers from the witness to remain.
  
  Judge William Atuguba asks that the last two answers by the witness should be struck out.
  
  Quarshie Idun produces another pink sheet exhibit in which he says there has been trans-positional and clerical error in tabulation and not because all voters had voted without being verified. Bawumia disagrees.
  
  Quarshie Idun presents three pinks sheets and asks witness to mention the polling station name and the code. He asks if there is duplication.
  
  Bawumia says that polling station has three separate pink sheets with different codes but from the same station and with different presiding officers. That is one of the irregularity we have complained about, he adds.
  
  Quarshie-Idun suggests that one of the three pink sheets in question is related to special voting and cannot be said to the same pink sheets from the same polling station.
  
  He presents what he says is the original pink sheet for the three exhibited pink sheet in question and attempts to tender it in evidence.
  
  Objection
  
  Counsel for the Petitioners Philip Addison raises a strong objection. He says every writing in this so-called original pink sheet is in blue except the special voting that has been written in red. Philip Addison alleges that the issue about special voting was an afterthought by the second respondent. He reads Paragraph 59 of their affidavits in which the petitioners exhibited three polling station they claimed had a combined effect of same polling station, same codes but different election results and different presiding officers. He goes ahead to read the answer by the second respondent and says the second respondent did not make mention of special voting in their answer to the specific allegations made on the three pink sheets. He questions the authenticity of the document that has been sprung on the petitioners and prays the court to over rule its tendering.
  
  Counsel for first respondent Tony Lithur has no objection to the tendering of the document. He expresses total shock about the objection being raised by the petitioners' counsel and says the arguments to back that objection are fundamentally flawed.
  
  Addison springs to his feet and vehemently objects to the line of arguments by the counsel for the first respondent. He says his objection was to the second respondent and not to him and he respectfully asks the court to stop him from making those comments.
  
  Tsatsu Tsikata is up on his feet. He has no objection but has serious challenges with the line of arguement by the petitioners.
  
  Addison rises to his feet and stops Tsikata from going ahead with his submission. He says the counsel for the third respondent has been making comments he is not supposed to be making and prays the court to limit to guide so he could make his comments at the appropriate time.
  
  Atuguba intervenes and advises counsel for the second respondent to either withdraw his document because it has not been properly tendered in evidence or that the judges will rule on the admissibility of the document.
  
  Quarshie Idun takes a cue from the presiding judge and withdraws the document.
  
  Philip Addison prays the court to stop Quarshie Idun from springing up such surprises. He alleges the counsel has a pile of similar pink sheets which he intends to serve on the court. He asks the court to be stringent on this particular rule.
  
  Quarshie Idun advises Addison to "look into his own cooking pot" and not to suggest that he Idun has many pink sheets which he will serve on the court.
  
  Presiding Judge agrees with concerns of Addison and cautions the counsel for the second respondent to stop springing surprises with anonymous pink sheets, failure which the bench will take action.
  
  Quarshie Idun goes ahead with his cross examination. He asks witness "Are you saying in your evidence that at anytime you see a blank space it is equivalent to zero?" Bawumia answers and says, in the context of over voting a blank space could mean zero. He says the easiest way to hide over voting is to leave a portion blank so that it will be difficult for people to ascertain whether or not there was over voting.
  
  Quarshie Idun says the portions that were left blank were only an omission in completing the forms. Bawumia answers and says it was an omission that led to over voting.
  
  Appeal for adjournment
  
  At 1530 Quarshie Idun asks for proceedings to be adjourned. Presiding judge Atuguba reminds him that the time is not even 16 hours and asks the reason for call for adjournement. Quarshie Idun says fatigue has set in. Atuguba asks if sitting down for his cross-examination will mitigate the fatigue. He answers no. Another judge on the panel suggests to Quarshie Idun to allow a member of his legal team to continue with the cross examination but he objects to that suggestion. Another judge again humorously suggests if he will allow a counsel on the other side to take over his cross-examination? He says “appearances may be deceptive.”
  
  Judge Atuguba then grants his requests for proceedings to be adjourned to Monday, April 29, 2013 at 9:00 am.

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