The Ghana Mineworkers’ Union (GMWU) is demanding the release of funds belonging to more than 19,000 miners whose savings were locked up following the Bank of Ghana’s financial sector clean-up.
The affected funds include provident and welfare funds, leave savings, individual deposits and severance packages.
The Union says the miners placed their funds with financial institutions licensed and regulated by the Bank of Ghana and should therefore be refunded.
The GMWU has criticised the prolonged delay, saying affected workers should not continue to bear the consequences of the collapse of regulated financial institutions.
According to the Union, successive assurances from the Bank of Ghana and commitments referenced in IMF reports have not resulted in the release of the funds.
The Union says Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson has indicated that the Bank of Ghana must recover assets of the affected institutions to settle outstanding claims, while the Ministry of Finance currently lacks funds to directly make the payments.
The GMWU is therefore calling on the government and the Bank of Ghana to find an urgent solution to the matter.
The Union is presenting a petition to the Finance Minister, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Johnson Asiamah, and the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, seeking action to secure the release of the locked-up funds.
