The Board Chairman of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) Mr. Freddie Blay has said that the increment of allowances of the management team was not excessive and unreasonable as claimed by Norgh Tongu Member of Parliament Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.
He stated that the decision to review the allaownaces upwards was taken in 2022 but it is being presented by the opposition lawmaker as though it was taken presentely.
“GNPC agreed unanimously to increase allowances, and it was not excessive. It was not unreasonable. This decision was made in 2022, so if someone is complaining about it and making it seem like it happened in 2024, they are only exploiting these reasonable increases for their own gain,” Freddie Blay told GH One.
MrAblakwa had accused the board and management of GNPC of increasing their allowances by up to 150 % at a time when the nation is going through financial difficulties.
In a statement on his X platform, the opposition lawmaker claimed that allowances for a day’s hotel rate have increased from 400 to 1000 Dollars, Euros or Pounds depending on where they travel to.
Per diem for the Board Chairman, he said, has moved from 500 to 850 and from 500 to 700 for the CEO and other board members — also in Dollars, Euros or Pounds as per the travel destination.
“It is even more depressing to read other memos requesting that the salary of the CEO is doubled. Angry insiders say the CEO, Mr. Opoku Ahweneeh Danquah who is President Akufo-Addo’s nephew, always gets what he wants.
“This betrayal of the Ghanaian people and gross insensitivity cannot continue,” he said.
Below is his full statement.
When a government asks everyone to take financial haircuts due to the effects of their economic mismanagement, we don’t expect its officials to be approving for themselves fat increments in allowances.
Intercepted memos from GNPC reveal that the Freddie Blay-led board and management have increased their allowances by up to 150% despite Ghana’s economic crisis and contrary to government’s assurances to Parliament of a general pay-cut.
Allowances for a day’s hotel rate have increased from 400 to 1000 Dollars, Euros or Pounds depending on where they travel to.
Per diem for the Board Chairman has moved from 500 to 850 and from 500 to 700 for the CEO and other board members — also in Dollars, Euros or Pounds as per the travel destination.
It is even more depressing to read other memos requesting that the salary of the CEO is doubled. Angry insiders say the CEO, Mr. Opoku Ahweneeh Danquah who is President Akufo-Addo’s nephew, always gets what he wants.
This betrayal of the Ghanaian people and gross insensitivity cannot continue.
I believe it is time to regulate the incestuous discretion of boards and CEOs of State-Owned Enterprises to determine their own salaries and allowances without parliamentary approval — particularly when most SOEs are being terribly mismanaged and making huge losses.
I shall in the coming days be proposing new private member’s legislation to end this detrimental practice.
For God and Country.
Ghana First 🇬🇭
