Termites have destroyed money that a 65-year-old woman buried in her house at Kpassa in the Nkwanta North District of the Volta Region.
Fatima Nyande said she lost trust in the banking system and buried her money under firewood in her house.
She told DAILY GUIDE that she adopted that strategy after she was swindled by some financial institutions in the area.
The woman, who has lost her husband and seven out of eight children, said she had been burying her money over the past three years after some shady financial firms in the area bolted with her over GH¢4,000.
She said she previously saved over GH¢10,000 in the house which she used to start her water business that currently sustains her.
The whole of the Nkwanta North District has only two banks – GN Bank (now Savings and Loans) and Kpassa Rural Bank.
The residents, who are mostly farmers, have over the years been duped by shady financial institutions, which discouraged them from saving at the banks.
Ms Nyande said she could not locate the spot where she buried the current money until some officials of the Kpassa Rural Bank visited her to talk to her about savings.
After the education and assurance by the bank officials, she told them about her money and the officials assisted her to search for it.
After a thorough search they located the money in a polythene, but could only salvage GH¢1,000.
“This experience has taught me a lesson, so I am going to give the banks a try again as savings is a good thing. I saved over GH¢10,000 at home to drill a borehole and buy a generator. I sell the water to residents in the area which lacks access to potable water and electricity,” she added.
General Manager for Kpassa Rural Bank, Evans Liwalajor, whose monitoring team assisted Ms Nyande to locate the money, advised residents to save with certified financial institutions to avoid mishap.
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