You failed us; stop using DKM for political gain – Victims tell Mahama

The spokesperson for the victims of the DKM Microfinance scam, Alex Obeng, has warned former President John Dramani Mahama to stop using their plight for political capital, since, in his view, the flag bearer hopeful of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), failed as president to come to their aid when the saga broke.

Several thousand Ghanaians, mostly in the Brong Ahafo Region, got their investments locked up in the Ponzi scheme, which promised them mouthwatering returns.

Mr Obeng’s warning to Mr Mahama comes on the heels of the former president’s urge to the Akufo-Addo government to arrest the owners of the now-defunct financial institution and also pay its aggrieved customers all their locked-up deposits as promised by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the lead-up to the 2016 elections.

According to Mr. Mahama, the NPP, in the run-up to the 2016 elections, accused him and his wife of being the owners of the collapsed microfinance firm and promised to retrieve for the clients, all their locked-up investments.

With the NPP now being in power, Mr. Mahama said the Akufo-Addo government should have no difficulty fulfilling that promise to the customers of the defunct firm.

The government, he said, must ensure the owner of the company is arrested and all customers settled appropriately.

“When we were in office, the NPP lied that DKM belonged to me and my wife. Today, you are in power, you, who DKM belongs to, you promised that you will collect the people’s money for them when you come into power; please collect their DKM money and give it back to them,” he said while addressing delegates of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Dormaa East Constituency at Wamfie, as part of his five-day campaign tour of the Brong Ahafo Region.

Speaking on Ghana Yensom on Accra100.5FM hosted by Kwabena Prah Jnr (The Don) on Monday, 22 October, Mr Obeng said: “It is a fact that the DKM saga became a huge political issue ahead of the 2016 elections. The NPP capaitlised on it and promised to assist the victims and, so, we expect the Akufo-Addo administration to honour that promise.”

He added: “Our pain is with how the NDC administration under John Mahama handled the situation. They did not do well at all with the matter that has resulted in the death of many of the victims. Former President Mahama and the NDC failed in that endeavour.”

“This matter will again be a political issue in 2020 and, so, the NPP government must act and help us get our money, already some of the people are beginning to be disappointed.”