As Company Sinks GHS430 Million in Debt
In a startling revelation, senior members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have been accused of seizing vehicles and loans from the Microfinance and Small Loan Centre (MASLOC)—funds and assets specifically meant for Ghana’s youth and small businesses.
The alleged actions have left the state-owned enterprise in a staggering GHS430 million debt.
Sources at MASLOC claim that some of the party’s most influential figures, including former General Secretary John Boadu, embattled Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako (also known as Wontumi), and former Presidential Staffer Charles Bissue, took loans and vehicles but failed to repay them.
Other high-profile names cited include Maxwell Kofi Jumah, former boss of the Ghana Industry Holding Corporation (GIHOC), as well as various regional chairmen and secretaries of the party.
Wontumi, Bissue, and others named
Despite their reputations as wealthy and influential party financiers, these individuals are said to have used their political clout to secure resources intended for the less privileged.
According to MASLOC’s CEO, Abigail Elorm Mensah, the company imported VW Golf cars specifically for young people to use in ride-hailing services like Uber and Bolt.
The youth would make monthly payments until they owned the vehicles, but instead, “the bigwigs came for” these same cars.
In an interview on Okay FM, Mensah revealed that the unpaid loans and vehicles are the sole cause of the company’s massive GHS430 million debt, stating, “If we had this money in our coffers, we would not have needed funds from government.”
The CEO pointed to specific examples, including Wontumi, who was said to have received five MASLOC vehicles. “We traced three to his home at Tema, so we asked for assistance from National Security to retrieve them,” Mensah stated.
This comes after Wontumi had previously claimed he had no dealings with government matters.
Trackers removed, cars left in ‘deplorable’ state
MASLOC had installed trackers on the vehicles, but many have been “criminally” removed. However, a few were still traceable, including one taken from Charles Bissue.
Mensah said they retrieved the car, but it was in a “deplorable state” despite being brand new when it was given to him. “He hasn’t paid a pesewa,” she added.
John Boadu was cited as the guarantor for loans and vehicles given to all regional secretaries of the NPP, who have also failed to repay. “National Security has been inviting him and those he stood in for have been coming,” Mensah said.
Additionally, Maxwell Kofi Jumah allegedly led GIHOC to acquire vehicles worth around GHS600,000, which have not been paid for. Similarly, regional chairmen reportedly took loans of up to GHS500,000 each and have also refused to pay.
The current revelations cast a harsh light on the conduct of party leaders under the previous Akufo-Addo government, during which Dr. Stephen Amoah and Hajia Abibata Shanni Mahama Zakariah successively headed MASLOC.