Shatta Wale
Dancehall artiste Shatta Wale has denied claims by the Kumbugu MP, Ras Mubarak, that he received about GH¢2 million to serve as an ambassador for Exim Bank’s Made in Ghana project.
Speaking in an interview on Daybreak Hitz on Hitz FM, he admitted that Exim Bank gave him an ambassadorial role to project Ghana, but “it did not come with money.”
“This is a charity project that I am doing. I am patriotic, things that people do not want to do that is what I want, because, I know what I am going to get in pushing my country,” Shatta Wale said.
He explained that a project like ‘One District, One Factory’ by the government caught his eye and he only proposed to help push their successes and the products.
He added that he had begun shooting documentaries about Ghana towards the Exim Bank Made in Ghana campaign without government’s money.
“I want people to know about Ghana. For instance, when I met Beyonce I told her about Ghana…she said her mum had been coming here and she would try to come too. It is nice to meet people and see them speak well about your country.”
He stated that there was no evidence he took ¢2 million money from the bank to push any campaign; adding that if he had taken money there would have been evidence.
His comments came after Mr. Mubarak claimed at a Public Accounts Committee meeting that Exim Bank had paid Shatta Wale and actor Agya Koo ¢2 million for a brand ambassadorial deal.
He stated that he did not understand why such colossal money will be handed to one person when the country was still grappling with the effects of Covid-19.
However, a press statement issued by the bank said although they sought the services of Agya Koo and Shatta Wale for a Made in Ghana campaign, they had not doled out such sum of money to them.
They stated that the allegation was “factually incorrect” and misleading.
Head of Corporate Affairs at Exim Bank, Richard Osei Anane, told Evans Mensah on Newsnight, Thursday, that the campaign was not rolled out, but put on hold after the coronavirus pandemic hit the country.
“We even launched the program belatedly on August 30. Indeed we have signed a contract with both artistes; they have not even started their roles,” he said.
Meanwhile, in the interview, Shatta Wale said that because he claimed to like money, people should not assume that he would make decisions unfavourable to his country.
–Myjoyonline