Angry customers of defunct COM-AID Microfinance Limited in the Upper East Region have appealed to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to impress upon the Builsa South District Chief Executive (DEC), Daniel Kwame Gariba, to refund their monies to them.

According to them, the DCE, who was the director of COM-AID microfinance, deceived them to pay monies to him to be invested also in the defunct God is Love Microfinance and to pay back with interest of 15 per cent.

Some of the affected customers who spoke to Today via telephone at the weekend could not fathom why COM-AID Microfinance defaulted payment to them after collecting millions of Ghana cedis in the form of savings, investments, education fund, and daily savings from them since May 2015.

The spokesperson for the customers, John Dawu, consequently vowed to use all legitimate means to retrieve their investments, hence their appeal to President Akufo-Addo to instruct the DCE to refund their monies.

Mr Dawu further wondered why COM-AID had still not declared its operations bankrupt to the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and government to liquidate the company’s assets to pay off the affected customers.

He was equally surprised that the Akufo-Addo-led government, which prides itself as incorruptible, would appoint such a person as a DCE.

Describing him [the DCE] as a scammer, Mr Dawu said his continuous stay in government as DCE was not good for the image of the government, hence his call for the President to quickly take a decision on him.

According to him, they locked up investments at COM-AID was taking a heavy toll on their livelihoods, especially their businesses and financing of their wards’ school fees.

But the DCE speaking to the media earlier debunked the allegations made by the customers, and reiterated that efforts being made to retrieve COM-AID’s investments from God is Love Microfinance to pay their customers proved futile.

“COM-AID faced some crisis when Bank of Ghana closed God is Love Microfinance, so we (COM-AID) secured a judgment against God is Love Microfinance in a civil action at the Sunyani High Court in November 2016, and the court directed the bankers of God is Love which is Unibank to pay us.”

…But at that same time, a customer of God is Love Microfinance had also secured a preservation order on the accounts of God is Love Microfinance so realising that should COM-AID take its share of the money from God is Love Microfinance there will be nothing left for him, he took the matter to the Supreme Court and prayed the court for an order of stay of execution and further obtained an order to quash the judgment of the Sunyani High Court until the case was determined.”

Mr Gariba reiterated that efforts were underway to retrieve COM-AID’s investments from God is Love Microfinance to enable them pay the affected customers.

Meanwhile, a deep throat source at the seat of government has hinted Today that the embattled DCE has been invited by President Akufo-Addo over the issue.