Investment schemes have become quite attractive forms of economic venture due to the volatile and critical economic environment of the world in general and Ghana has not been left behind in this regard. However, in some cases, these schemes have turned out to be Ponzi schemes and had left customers devastated and bankrupt. The Menzgold saga is an on-going investment-gone bad crisis in Ghana and the author in this beautifully crafted piece shares his views. This week we are posting a piece by Amarkine Amarteifio on the Menzgold drama with an extended introductory commentary by CIHA Editorial Assistants, Abena Kyere and Edwin Adjei. Amarteifio draws parallels between the Menzgold scheme and predatory pastors.
The story of Menzgold is one that has left the Ghanaian economic scene in utter helplessness. Between August 2014 and September 2018, a series of warnings, accusations and counter accusations and meetings between the Bank of Ghana and Menzgold Company precipitated in the eventual shut down of Menzgold. Menzgold was registered as a private company with an attractive investment model. Customers bought gold collectibles in the form of cash and these collectibles were then deposited with the dealership for investment with the promise of a juicy 7%-10% monthly interest based on quantity of deposit. While it was praised in the beginning for its ingenuity by some, there was also initial suspicion in certain quarters on the grounds that even the international market rate could not support a 7%-10% monthly interest return. There were even those who indicated that the activities of the company had all the trappings of a Ponzi scheme. This fear was realised when Menzgold was denounced by the Bank of Ghana on the grounds that its dealings were illegal. The accusation was that Menzgold had metamorphosed into a bank when it did not have the legal license to do so. Again, the company was accused of inviting deposits from customers when it was registered as a private company and thus, under the laws of the land was not qualified to take such deposits. Menzgold was thus closed down, with Customers of the firm, using various means including a demonstration have called on government to assist them retrieve their monies. On the one hand, some citizens have argued that customers of the firm are victims of their own greed since they refused to heed to numerous warnings by the Bank of Ghana and the Precious Minerals Marketing Marketing Company. Others have also diagnosed the incident as micro representation of the macro capitalist nature our culture has metamorphosed into and the desire to be ‘successful’ at every cost. Yet, some section of the populace, like the author Amarteifio Amarkine discusses below, have noted that customers inability to recognize Menzgold for what it was, a Ponzi scheme, mimics our inability to critically question any person, persons and institutions that purport to have the solutions to all problems, be it economic, political or religious. The consequent effect that customers were unable to retrieve their invested funds.
MENZGOLD AND MENZgod: the Complexities of a Ghanaian Hypocrisy
By: Amarkine Amarteifio, artist.
I sincerely think Menzgold is a social mirror and Nana Appiah Mensah is a part of who we have all become —a society of rusty gold. To quote Walt Kelly the famous US cartoonist of the 1960s, “we have found the enemy, and he is us”.
As an artist, I am well aware that every once in a while, an obscure rascal emerges from the shadows of society and confronts us in ways that shock and unsettle our social façade. The truth however is that, this young man and his cohorts are a made-in-Ghana product, and a good example of how bad we the people and our institutions of state have degenerated. The question therefore is not how he could do what he did but rather how could thousands of Ghanaians work so assiduously to cooperate and produce such a sly fox? Menzgold must be seen as a sociogenic problem which emerged to fill an existing social greed gap which has over the years been widening within our national morality.
Nana Appiah Mensah is admittedly a smart young man, but he has more room for improvement. He could have been smarter if he had copied the style of his Ponzi counterparts in another field who have been running exactly the same scheme for years very much to the admiration of the whole nation— our predatory pastors who work for “Menzgod”.
I am not surprised many have yet to see the parallels in both schemes. You are told to deposit money with Menzgold and get double or more returns. The pastors who work for Menzgod tell you to sow a seed to God and get double or a hundred-fold blessings. Which greedy person wouldn’t fall for this lure? I have heard speculations that even some banks and some of their staff withdrew monies to invest in this juicy scheme. Both open branches in all major towns and cities and make a lot of money and live large on your hard-earned monies. Both have huge mansions and hobnob with celebrities and politicians to show off their social clout. Both go about with body guards. Both are literally inaccessible and hard to see by their ordinary followers or customers. Both engage in elaborate social spectacles to induce faith and enchant our minds and hearts. Both have or aim to have private jets. Both have a large following whose desperation and greed and folly blind them to reasoning and caution. Those who sound the alarm bells to warn society about their pernicious activities are branded and vilified. Both have powerful people behind them. In the case of religion, they have and often cite and invoke ancient but powerful Jewish names from the Bible as authorities to support their claims or activities. Additionally, poor God and his innocent son are often dragged into this scheme when they are sitting quietly in “their somewhere” in the iCloud.
Meanwhile I am wondering why the entire country feels outrage towards one Ponzi scheme while they live comfortably with the other scheme and even shout hallelujah in commitment and praises of it!
It is always a sad irony that the society which produced Menzgold could call for his head to roll. To this end, will the men who have maintained the purity of their gold’s karat, be the ones to cast the first stones?
Amarkine Amarteifio, artist.
Email: amart1000@yahoo.com
For further readings on the Menzgold saga and timelines.