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Members of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) have questioned the basis on which state-owned Exim Bank allegedly paid around ¢ 2 million to dancehall artist Charles Nii Armah Mensah Jr., also known as Shatta Wale , and others as brand ambassadors.
Committee member Ras Mubarak said it doesn’t make economic sense for the company to pay such an amount to an artist to promote products made in Ghana.
“I mentioned ¢ 2 million that went to Shatta Wale, but the deputy CEO says they wouldn’t know who the supplier selected and this doesn’t mean we have a problem with Shatta Wale getting an amount of money to do any work.
“But the Ghanaian public deserves to know how much came out and who got it because their responses were not satisfactory.”
Mubarak’s concerns follow media reports suggesting the bank paid large sums of money to Shatta Wale and actor and comedian Kofi Adu, popularly known as “Agya Koo” for being its brand ambassadors.
But responding to the matter at the PAC session on Wednesday, Deputy Executive Director with oversight from the Finance and Administration Division, Kwame Adu-Darkwa, said the bank only hired the services of a media consultant to support them in promoting your product as it was needed. .
However, he insisted that he has not signed or seen any checks for GH ¢ 2 million to any artist.
“You will be surprised how good brand ambassadors can be at promoting a particular industry. Sometimes the thing to do is, if you’ve done an amazing job, it will be good for people to know what their options are, and having a good brand ambassador to do that makes sense. ”
But Ras Mubarak, a Kumbungu MP, believes the money could have been invested in providing water and other basic services for rural communities.
He tells JoyNews that compared to other mature artists, Shata Wale does not deserve the ¢ 2 million GH they gave him.
Meanwhile, PAC Chairman James Klutse Avedzi said the committee will invite bank officials to present details of such payments to Shatta Wale and others.
Background
The Ghana Export-Import Bank (GEXIM) was established by the Ghana Export-Import Bank Act 2016 (Act 911) to support the Government of Ghana’s quest for a viable and sustainable export-based economy.
The bank’s vision is to become a strong financial institution that will be a key driver in the development of Ghana’s export trade, facilitate cross-border trade and make Ghana a mainstay in regional and continental trade.
The bank’s mission is to facilitate the transformation of Ghana’s economy into an export one by supporting and developing trade between Ghana and other countries, investing abroad by Ghanaian companies, and eliminating critical market failures in the Ghana’s economy, which makes Ghana competitive in the world. market.
