This Is The Beginning Of The Fight...Group Demonstrates Against Merbank-Fortiz Deal

A group calling itself the Public Action Against Corruption and Abuse (PAACA) has demonstrated against the sale of Merchant Bank to Fortiz Equity Fund. They are calling on government to reverse the decision or �face their wrath�. The demonstrators were clad in red T-shirts and red armbands and were holding placards with inscriptions like: �Save Merchant Bank Now�, �We Need A Competent Government�, 'Say No To Fortiz', �Heed The Calls Of Pensioners� etc. They started from the Obra Spot at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, and went through some principal streets of Accra and ended at the Accra Hearts of Oak Park where they were addressed by various speakers. Some of them were Sammi Awuku, Owusu Bempah, Atik Mohammed, Policy Analyst of the People�s National Convention (PNC) and Ken Kuranchie, Editor of the Daily Searchlight newspaper. Atik in his address said the salvation of Merchant Bank does not lie in its sale to Fortiz and that if Ghanaians are not vigilant, government will end up selling every asset in the country. �We want to assure you that this is the beginning of the fight against corruption and wrongdoing in the government�� he said. The sale of 90 per cent shares in Merchant Bank to Fortiz has generated lots of controversy in the country. A court action to stop the sale by Andrew Awuni, Executive Director of Center for Freedom and Accuracy was shot down and thrown out of court. The minority in Parliament also made an attempt to stop the transaction in Parliament but the Speaker of Parliament, Doe Adjaho ruled a motion of the "over 80 MPs" out of order.