Who doesn’t dream of a good life? Living modestly within one’s means while waiting for the day to strike gold is not easy. When, at the peak of the Menzgold debacle some customers began revealing how much they had invested in the scheme realized truly no one deserves to be poor. Granted the huge amounts they quoted were true, and their sources of income were genuine, I realized everyone needed to work harder and smarter to reward and satisfy oneself and his dependents.
What is Gold?
Generally, gold is a yellow, naturally occurring precious metal used for jewellery, coinage and for several other purposes. “Gold” is also used figuratively to denote wealth and affluence. There is also “fool’s gold” (also called pyrites) which is a yellow mineral found in rock, that looks like gold but is not valuable. “Fool’s gold” is also used to refer to something that one thinks is valuable or will earn one a lot of money, but which has no chance of succeeding. A popular idiom attached to gold is “all that glitters is not gold” which means “not everything that seems good, beautiful is actually good.
Ghana and Gold Production!
Ghana was once called the Gold Coast. Though there may be other reasons for this description, the dominant explanation that is widely accepted is that, it was as result of the abundance of gold found in the country by the European merchants. Any wonder that gold mining is seen by many as a lucrative business in Ghana, with illegal miners (referred to as galamseyers) running riot, doing damage to water bodies and vegetative cover.
Ghana ranks currently as the second largest gold producing country in the world, coming only after South Africa. Data from the Minerals Commission reports that Ghana’s gold output rose to 2.8 million ounces in 2017, up by 10.2% from the previous year. AngloGold Ashanti Limited (headquartered in Johannesburg) which is the product of a merger in 2004 of AngloGold (a mining company that was based in South Africa) and Ashanti Goldfields Cooperation (that was based in Ghana), is the third largest gold mining company in the world.
Menzgold; NAM 1 and Others
What exactly is Menzgold? Who owns it? When/how did it begin operations? How does it operate?
Menzgold is a gold dealing firm owned by Nana Appiah Mensah (popularly referred to as NAM1). NAM 1 is said to be about 34 years old. Menzgold offered a maximum of 10% monthly return on investments. The business caught on with a lot of people with celebrities in the art industry and some footballers investing in it.
A Jolt in the Ride!
In the wake of revelationons about how much people invested in the company, self-pity reared its head and many people began to turn the heat on themselves asking what crime they have committed for earning so little while their age (and even school) mates had huge sums of money (GHS400, 000; GHS760, 000 and GHS1.5m, etc) to put away. As majority of Ghanaians continued to endure the misery of lack and worsening economic conditions, and some taking consolation in the fact of social inequities, regulatory authorities were busy revising their notes and taking plans.
Curiosity about the 34-year-old financial messiah began to rise. His private jet and fleets of cars; his country tours and donations; and his social responsibility became the talk of town. The Bank of Ghana, in May 2018, stepped up its warnings to the company to stop taking deposits from clients as it had not been licensed to conduct banking business. The BoG issued further warnings in 2018, saying Menzgold was only licensed by the Minerals Commission to buy and sell gold. The bank of Ghana further intimated that Menzgold’s operations were in breach of Section 6 (1) of the Banks and Specialized Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930); and thus, warning the general public not to deposit monies with the company, as it had not been licensed to take deposits. The irony of the situation is that while a number of indigenous banks were struggling to raise additional funds to meet the BOG’s minimum capitalization requirement of GHS400m to keep in business, some organizations and individuals were busy pumping funds into Menzgold.
Later, in October 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also issued a public notice stating that Menzgold had no license to conduct any business in the capital market. The notice further stated that Menzgold’s operations run contrary to Section 3 of the Securities Industries Act, 2016 (Act 929). NAM1 assuaged customers’ fears, calling the bluff of the BoG and the SEC.
Things Fall Apart!
Perhaps, 100 years after W. B. Yeats’ poem, “The Second Coming” was first published, the following lines may likened to the fight between Menzgold on one hand and the BoG and SEC on the other hand: “Turning and turning in the widening gyre; The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold.” In Round One, NAM1 appeared to have won with his snub of the BoG and the SEC. Round Two however appears to have gone the way of the BoG and the SEC climaxing with the SEC instructing Menzgold to shut down and return depositors’ investments to them.
The Regrets and the Lessons!
In an article written by Peace Ezebuiro and published on Buzz Ghana, the author issued the following caution: “Even when the credibility of an investment institution such as this is unquestionable, you are always advised to invest with your spare money.”
I would have assumed those who invested in Menzgold invested their spare funds but for their rush to withdraw their investments and the revelations of how much they invested; where they got their investments from; and the tears they shed afraid of losing their investments.
While sympathizing with NAM1 and Menzgold customers for their plight and hoping that they gather the strength to go through this difficult phase of their lives, I must confess the Menzgold story has changed my life. I have learned that if I must go looking for gold, I must go with an eagle’s eye, being twice meticulous, and twice critical, seeking investment advice from certified investment consultants on viable investment opportunities and making frantic efforts to follow such advice through.
Menzgold has definitely changed my life for the better!