Workers Demand DG’s Suspension Ahead Of Probe
TNR Front Desk
Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) staff have escalated pressure on the state broadcaster’s leadership, demanding that Director-General Prof. Amin Alhassan step aside immediately to safeguard a presidentially ordered forensic audit into the alleged vanishing of US$3.6 million earmarked for coverage of the 13th All-Africa Games.
The call, channelled through the Public Service Workers Union (PSWU) of the Trades Union Congress (TUC)of which the GBC union is an affiliate was formally conveyed to President John Mahama in a November 25 letter signed by PSWU General Secretary Bernard Adjei.
It warns that Alhassan’s continued tenure, as the very official who inked the contract with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, risks compromising the probe’s integrity.
“In line with natural justice principles no one judges their own case and established public service norms, individuals whose roles intersect with investigations must step aside until conclusions are reached,” the letter asserts.
It positions GBC at the epicentre of the funding furore, insisting that only Alhassan’s temporary removal can shield the audit from “perceived or actual conflict of interest” and preserve institutional credibility.
Expectations are mounting that Mahama will act swiftly on the demand, amid broader scrutiny of the broadcaster’s financial opacity.
The audit’s origins trace to Mahama’s November 4 directive to the Auditor-General, prompted by a National Intelligence Bureau report flagging irregularities in the Games’ organisation. The probe, due by mid-December, spans procurement compliance under the Public Procurement Act, financial oversight of sponsorships, project timelines, costs, value-for-money assessments, and asset management for the event’s facilities.
Yet the audit’s urgency stems from a glaring US$3 million-plus discrepancy that has ignited public outrage. In August 2024, then-Sports Minister Ussif Mustapha told Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee that his ministry had disbursed the full US$3.6 million directly to GBC for broadcast rights US$2.5 million in two tranches (US$1 million on March 13 and US$1.5 million on May 22), plus US$1 million routed to third-party providers at GBC’s explicit instruction.
Alhassan swiftly rebutted this on GTV, claiming GBC received just over US$100,000, later formalising in a letter to the ministry that only US$105,000 materialised. Mustapha fired back the same day, reaffirming the payments with documentary evidence and accusing GBC of misrepresenting the deal’s structure.
This standoff has cast a long shadow over GBC’s operations, fuelling suspicions of deeper mismanagement in public fund handling. As the Auditor-General’s findings loom, the workers’ intervention underscores a brewing crisis of confidence in state institutions where accountability battles entrenched interests in Ghana’s post-Games reckoning.