Stop The Sale of Merchant Bank to Fortiz; They Are a Bunch Of �Criminals� � Kennedy Agyapong

The Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong has called on President John Dramani Mahama with immediate effect halt the sale of Merchant Bank to Fortiz Equity Firm. According to him, the only way Ghanaians would be willing to help him (the President) to �fix Ghana� is to see his actions as an incumbent President. He noted that, everything about the intended sale of Merchant Bank is to hand over the bank to some people. For the second time, the intended sale of Merchant Bank has come under intense scrutiny. In August 2012, First Rand of South Africa was said to have acquired 75 percent stake in Merchant Bank for 91 million dollars but the majority shareholder of Merchant Bank, Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), on July 12, announced the abrogation of the deal. But in October, the Bank of Ghana approved the bid by Fortiz, a wholly owned Ghanaian company incorporated in June 2013 under the Companies Act 1963 (Act 17), to acquire 90 percent stake in Merchant Bank for 90 million. This has generated a lot of controversy, with the Minority in Parliament arguing that the sale is not value for money. Speaking on Adom FM, fire branded Kennedy Agyapong who is against the sale of Merchant Bank challenged the President to halt the transaction if he wants to fight corruption. �If the President wants to fight corruption, his first assignment is Merchant Bank sale to Fortiz. They (Fortiz) are a bunch of criminals who want to rob Ghana. He should put his foot down and check them. If he does that, Ghanaians will help him fix the economy,� he said.