Nkonkonsa Celebrity Gossip From Africa
The board of GCB Bank PLC has come under scrutiny following revelations that each of the 12 board members received a travel allowance of $33,000 (GH¢479,000) for an overseas training programme, the Herald Newspaper has reported.
The Herald alleged that this allowance, amounting to a total of $396,000 (GH¢5,757,840), excludes additional expenses such as first-class airfare and the actual training costs, which have been criticised as “questionable” by insiders within the state-owned financial institution.
Those who benefited from the training included Kofi Adomakoh, the Managing Director; Dr. Stephen Amoah, Deputy Minister for Finance and New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Nhyiaeso Constituency; Emmanuel Odartey Lamptey, Deputy Managing Director in charge of Operations; Socrates Afram, Deputy Managing Director in charge of Finance; Nana Ama Ayensua Saara III, Omanhemaa of the Denkyira Traditional Area; Alhaji Alhassan Yakubu, Non-Executive Director; Francis Arthur-Collins, Non-Executive Director; Ray Ankrah, Deputy Chief Executive of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD); Osmani Aludiba Ayuba; Lydia Essah; Daniel Kwaku Tweneboah Asirifi of the law firm Akuffo-Addo, Prempeh & Co.; and Samuel Kwame Yedu Aidoo, Executive Director of Wholesale and Investment Banking at GCB Bank PLC.
The report stated that some board members traveled to the United States and others to South Africa for the training known as “The Complete Board Directors Programme.”
The investigation by The Herald was prompted by a leaked internal memo regarding the payment of the US$33,000 travel allowance to Alhaji Alhassan Yakubu, who traveled to South Africa, revealing significant financial mismanagement within the state-owned financial institution.
The memo, signed by Nana Kwabena Yeboah, the head of HR, and Alexander Yeboah, Manager of Compensation and Rewards, outlined the payment details to Yakubu.
“We advise your participation in the above-referenced programme being organised by Inter Africa Consulting Group in Johannesburg, South Africa, from May 27 to June 7, 2024. The DMD, Finance is, by a copy of this memorandum, expected to pay you the following emoluments in respect of your travel,” part of the memo which was dated May 23, 2024, was quoted by theheraldghana.com
A breakdown of the US$33,000 allowance to Yakubu included US$12,000 for accommodation at US$1,000 per day for 12 nights; US$18,000 as per diem at US$1,500 per day for his 12-day stay in South Africa; plus an additional US$3,000 at US$1,500 for two days described vaguely as “traveling days.”
NKONKONSA.com
