19,000 miners yet to access their locked-up savings following sector cleanup – GMWU

The General Secretary of the Ghana Mineworkers’ Union (GMWU), Abdul-Moomin Gbana, has urged the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to immediately release the life savings of more than 19,000 miners whose funds remain locked up in financial institutions affected by the 2018/2019 financial sector clean-up.

Speaking at the Union’s second-half National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Accra, Gbana said the trapped funds include provident fund contributions, welfare dues, leave savings, individual deposits, and severance packages. All were lodged in BoG-licensed institutions that were later declared weak or insolvent.

He expressed disappointment that more than four years after the collapse of these institutions, workers had still not been reimbursed, despite assurances by the Central Bank that deposits held in licensed institutions were safe. According to him, the BoG had consistently maintained that, in the unlikely event of losses, it would take responsibility—assurances that encouraged miners and the general public to entrust their savings to the affected institutions.

Gbana described as unacceptable a recent statement by the Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, indicating that the Ministry had “no money” to settle depositors and that the BoG should instead recover assets from the collapsed institutions to meet outstanding obligations. This, he noted, contradicts the 2026 Budget, which acknowledges the need for GH¢10.45 billion to resolve remaining legacy issues in the sector.

He argued that as the statutory regulator, the BoG has a fiduciary duty to depositors and must therefore “fully refund” all locked-up funds without delay. The Central Bank, he added, could subsequently recover the amounts from the assets of the liquidated institutions. Anything short of full repayment, he warned, would have “severe consequences in the coming days.”

Gbana said the Union’s stance is reinforced by repeated assurances from both former and current BoG governors, along with findings highlighted in IMF reports from May 2023 and December 2024—none of which has led to the release of members’ funds.

He stressed that the issue has become one of the Union’s most urgent concerns, particularly as many affected miners have retired or been severed and are relying on these savings for survival. The prolonged delay, he said, has caused “severe hardship” to workers who entrusted their funds to the financial system in good faith.

Gbana reaffirmed the Union’s commitment to persistently demand what rightfully belongs to its members until their savings are paid in full.