The Ghana Mineworkers’ Union (GMWU) is protesting the continued delay in releasing funds belonging to more than 19,000 miners whose savings were locked up in financial institutions affected by the Bank of Ghana’s financial sector clean-up.
The affected funds include provident funds, welfare funds, leave savings, individual deposits and severance packages, according to the Union.
The GMWU says the miners placed their savings with financial institutions that were licensed and regulated by the Bank of Ghana and should therefore not be made to bear the consequences of the institutions’ collapse.
The Union is demanding the full refund of the affected funds and has criticised the Bank of Ghana’s handling of the matter.
According to the GMWU, its concerns have persisted despite assurances from successive Bank of Ghana governors and commitments referenced in International Monetary Fund (IMF) reports in 2023 and 2024.
The Union also disclosed that Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson has maintained that the Bank of Ghana must recover assets belonging to the affected financial institutions and use the proceeds to settle depositors.
According to the GMWU, the Finance Minister has further indicated that the Ministry of Finance currently does not have the funds to directly settle the outstanding claims.
The Union, however, insists that government and the Bank of Ghana must find an urgent solution to ensure the affected miners receive their money.
The GMWU is expected to present a petition to the Finance Minister, Cassiel Ato Forson; the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Johnson Asiamah; and the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Armah Kofi Buah.
The petition forms part of the Union’s efforts to push for the release of the locked-up funds and bring an end to what it describes as a prolonged financial hardship for the affected miners.
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