Monies collected for awards were voluntary, no coercion’

Accra, Jan. 15, - Mr James Victor Gbeho, the Chairman of the Millennium Excellence Foundation, on Monday said monies collected in connection with the 2017 Ghana Expatriates Business Awards (GEBA) were from voluntary sponsors.

He said: “We did not coerce any person or institution to come out with sums of money that would enable them to sit next to the Head of State.” 

Mr Gbeho, who was testifying before the Ameyaw Cheremeh Committee, said the organisers found voluntary sponsors to support the ‘first class” event, and did not sell seats for cash nor was any expatriate firm excluded from attending the event because it did not pay.

The Speaker of Parliament instituted a five-member bipartisan Ameyaw Cheremeh Committee, following a petition by Minority Chief Whip Alhaji Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, to probe allegation of the Ministry of Trade and Industry of collecting unauthorised monies and levies from the expatriate business leaders to enable them to sit close to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the GEBA.

The probe has since been tagged the “Cash for Seat” Probe, and during his testimony, Mr Gheho said most of the Very Important Personalities seated on the presidential table did not pay the alleged $100,000 before the gala event.

“Finally, Mr Chairman, the Foundation did not encourage any stratagem to steal from any businessman or government,” Mr Gbeho said.

Earlier, Mr Ashim Morton, the President of the Foundation, said no company paid a $100.000.00 before the event.

He said: “If $100.000 was paid towards the awards ceremony, it didn’t happen before December 4, 2017. Rather, two companies paid an ex-gratia towards the hosting of this programme to support us.”

Mr Morton said: “The Foundation has received in total GH₵2.367,426.06 from the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the GH₵40,000.00 received from the Ministry of Trade was paid back.”

During his testimony, Mr Morton showed the Committee a diagram depicting the arrangement of seats at the awards dinner; expected to be used to explain the Foundation's point that no one paid $100,000.00 to sit at the President's table.

He said there were 25 sponsored tables and 138 guests at the dinner. The Green dots meant the sponsor paid between $10,000 and $25,000.00. Those who sat at the back paid between $5,000.00 and $15,000.00.

The Yellow dots showed those who paid $40,000 to $50,000. Red dotted spot paid $75,000. It was the closest seat to the President's Gold Table, which was 30 feet away.

The Foundation's publications before the event asked potential sponsors to pay $100,000.00 to sit on the President's table. It also promised a private dinner for two "at a later date".

However, Mr Morton said the term “President” used in the publication was not referring to the President of Ghana but to him.

Mr Morton said 20 persons sat on the high table during the awards ceremony as against an earlier number of 17 given by Mr Allan Kyerematen, the Trade and Industry Minister at the same enquiry.

He explained: “I was watching the presentation of the Minister of Trade and Industry and he made a statement that 17 seats were on the high table. I will like to make a small correction.

“When he mentioned all the names, he mentioned the former President and Head of State Jerry John Rawlings and his wife; that is two. So that makes the number eighteen. Now he did not mention our chairman Ambassador Victor Gbeho, and he did not mention Joe Mensah from Cosmos.

“So if you add those two with the former first lady, it becomes twenty.”

The “Cash for Seat” allegation was first made by Minority Chief Whip, Muntaka Mubarak, during his contribution on the 2018 appropriations in Parliament in December 2017.

Alhaji Muntaka said the fees charged at the GEBA were not approved by Parliament, adding that the monies were also not accounted for in the Internally Generated Funds [IGF] of the Ministry’s accounts.

The issue was further reinforced by Mr Ablakwa, who suffered verbal assaults from Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr Carlos Ahenkorah, over the matter.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry initially dissociated itself from these allegations.

The Trade Ministry, in a statement, said it played no role in determining prices for seats at the event, and clarified that it only facilitated the implementation of a new initiative by the Millennium Excellence Foundation.

The organisers of the Awards had also explained that no one paid to sit close to the President, and that the amount realised was gotten from sponsorship through a fundraising at the event.

GNA