Samuel Nartey George, a member of the Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC), has raised concerns regarding the disparity in daily payments to staff of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) for their coverage of the recent All Africa Games.
The Ningo-Prampram MP claims that while local GBC staff were paid GH¢100 a day, foreign staff received GH¢1000 a day.
He emphasised the need for an explanation for this discrepancy during an interview with Selorm Adonoo on Eyewitness News on Citi FM.
The issue is further complicated by controversy over the total amount paid to GBC for the event’s coverage.
GBC’s Director-General, Prof. Amin Alhassan, has countered the Sports Ministry’s claim that the broadcaster received over $3 million for the coverage of the 13th African Games.
During a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) session on August 19, Sports Minister Mustapha Ussif asserted that GBC had indeed been paid more than $3 million.
This claim was made in response to Sam George’s concerns about unpaid debts to the technical staff who worked on the games.
Prof. Alhassan refuted the Sports Ministry’s statement, clarifying that GBC received only $105,000.
He explained that this amount was intended to support GBC’s decision to dedicate an entire channel to the African Games, leading to the suspension of normal programming on GTV Sports Plus.
But Mr George noted that “Even if it was $105,000 that was paid, we need to now understand from GBC how that money was disbursed and who got what and how it was paid because we are told that foreign broadcasters who came through the same GBC were paid GH¢1000 a day as stipend so why were the Ghanaian staff of GBC paid a GH¢100.”
“Questions have to be answered…We will do a proper investigation of the issues surrounding the All African Games, expenses, releases and disbursement to staff, that will happen.”