Parliament orders GNPC: Produce documents on ex gratia payment in five days
The Parliamentary Select Committee on Mines and Energy has directed the management and the board of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) to, within five days, produce all documents relating to the payment of ex gratia to some former top officials of the corporation.
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The committee, chaired by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Madina, Alhaji Amadu Sorogho, gave the order after officials of the company had failed to produce documents relating to the payment at a meeting in Parliament House on Wednesday.
The GNPC team, led by Mr Kyeretwie Opoku, a board member; the acting Chief Executive, Mr Thomas Manu, and other top officials, confirmed during the closed-door meeting with the committee that indeed, the board had approved the payments of ex gratia to two former chief executives of the corporation, Mr Tsatsu Tsikata and Mr Asafu Adjaye, as well as Ms Esther Cobbah, a former Public Affairs Director of the organisation and some other persons.
According to a source close to the committee, the GNPC team, however, stated that the board of directors ignored a memo from its legal department which advised against the payment because, in the opinion of the board, the payment was justified.
The source said the team told the committee that although payment had been approved, only one person had received the cheque for the release of the money.
That person, according to the source, was neither Mr Tsikata nor Ms Cobbah.
Further requests
The source told the Daily Graphic that the committee demanded documents relating to the appointment of the individuals to whom the payments had been made and those to whom they were yet to be made and also documents relating to the departure of Mr Tsikata and Ms Cobbah from the organisation.
"The documents must also state whether Mr Tsikata resigned, was sacked, went on leave and never returned or was seconded to a related organisation," it said.
On the mode of appointment of the chief executives, it said the team stated that since the corporation was established, the heads had always been appointed by the Head of State.
Media briefing
Alhaji Sorogho and the Ranking Member of the committee, Mr K. T. Hammond, were tight-lipped on what had been discussed at the meeting, except to say that they had requested that documents be produced by next Monday and that officials of the corporation would appear before the committee again next Wednesday.
However, while Alhaji Sorogho told journalists that all members of the committee were satisfied with the explanations offered by the officials of the GNPC, Mr Hammond said that was far from the truth.
"We have made some progress but he cannot say we are satisfied. There are some fundamental issues outstanding,” Mr Hammond said.
Background
Last Friday, Mr Hammond called on the government to probe the alleged payment of GH¢1 million to Mr Tsikata as compensation for work done during his tenure as head of the organisation.
He said Mr Asafu-Adjaye and Ms Cobbah received almost GH¢1 million and about GH¢600,000, respectively.
Money for specific projects
Addressing representatives of some media houses in Parliament, Mr Hammond said the various sums paid to the individuals were taken out of money approved by Parliament for the GNPC to use for some specific projects.
He explained that out of the $342 million which accrued to Ghana from the sale of crude oil this year, $98.3 million was set aside for the GNPC to use for some specified projects.
Approval
Meanwhile, the Board of Directors of the GNPC has explained that it approved the payment of ex gratia to the four former employees of the corporation.
A press statement by the Corporate Affairs Department of the GNPC issued on Monday said the four served the corporation for periods ranging between 12 and 21 years.