{"id":61805,"date":"2014-11-03T18:22:58","date_gmt":"2014-11-03T18:22:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=61805"},"modified":"2014-11-03T18:22:58","modified_gmt":"2014-11-03T18:22:58","slug":"franklin-cudjoes-response-to-first-bancs-threats-over-pension-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=61805","title":{"rendered":"Franklin Cudjoe\u2019s response to First Banc\u2019s threats over pension money"},"content":{"rendered":"

First Banc’s press statement to me and the threat of legal action comes to me as an act in a movie and a comical one at best. \u00a0Because they are probably scared of the coming public inquiry in to all matters pension, they are creating fictitious lies to attempt to start a court case.\u00a0 Reference First Banc\u2019s statement<\/p>\n

(http:\/\/www.spyghana.com\/firstbanc-received-no-funds-in-the-tpfa-asiedu\/<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Contrary\u00a0to what the press statement claims, I never said First Banc is the ‘fund manager\u2019 of the beleaguered second tier pension fund as they claim.<\/p>\n

I did say they are the Administrators, which they confirmed in the hurriedly written press statement. Reference the\u00a0second paragraph of this article and match it against the claim First Banc makes and see if it is not consistent with what they themselves say they are. (http:\/\/www.spyghana.com\/tag\/temporary-pension-fund-account\/<\/a>) .<\/p>\n

First Banc and its hirelings have to understand that in so far as the raging confusion about the credibility of the second tier pension funds are concerned, they will have to answer questions at some point even as they were Administrators.<\/p>\n

Pensions are a serious matter and in this case, we need finality to the varying sums mentioned by the government and the pensions regulator as the real value of pensions collected so far.<\/p>\n

It cannot be credible when on the same day last week, the Ministers of Labour say the value is Ghc 440m, the Pension regulator says GHc 1.64bn (Remember it is the same figure it says it had last year too) and later the state owned daily Graphic is reporting that the pension regulator suggests that the real figure is Ghc 2.1bn. The Minister of Agric sometime last year said the value is Ghc 1.2bn. \u00a0Can First Banc as Fund Administrators tell us what they know?<\/p>\n

For the avoidance of doubt, below is a portion of the statement that did agree with First Banc that it is an Administrator and not a FUND MANAGER as they erringly claim I have claimed.<\/p>\n

“A year ago there were serious allegations<\/strong> by many financial analysts that funds used by Fortiz for the purchase of Merchant Bank, now Universal Merchant Bank were made available to them by the Bank of Ghana via the Temporary Pension Fund Account (TPFA) or the Tier 2 Pension funds, being held at the Central Bank.\u00a0The allegations become serious in view of the fact that one Mawuli Hedo, a director of Fortiz, was also a director at First Banc, the Scheme Administrators of the Temporary Pension Fund Account.\u00a0\u00a0First Banc was appointed to be the Administrators of the TPFA, with Bank of Ghana serving as the Custodial Bank.\u00a0In January 2010, the TPFA was set up to provisionally administer the Tier 2 contributions, pending the licensing of Trustees and the registration of the Pension Schemes.\u00a0Employers\u00a0from January 2010 remitted 5% (Tier 2 contributions) of their employees\u2019 salaries to the TPFA, adding that this continued for most employers till October 2012.\u00a0It still continues.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is important that as the controversy rages over the whereabouts and value of the second tier pension funds, First Banc as\u00a0 Administrators should join me and many millions of Ghanaians to have the following done.<\/p>\n