Dissolve Ghana Cylinder Board – Nana Orders

Frances Essiam

President Akufo-Addo has ordered the dissolution of the Board of Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company (GCMC) Limited.

A letter from the Energy Ministry which was addressed to the Board Chairman, Frank Boakye Agyen, asked him to hand over documents and items belonging to the Board to the secretary of GCMC.

However, the letter dated July 3, 2018 and authored by the Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko, did not disclose the reasons for the dissolution of the board.

It would be recalled that on May 8, 2018 there was misunderstanding between the CEO of GCMCL and some members of the Board, led by Frank Boakye Agyen, over the award of contracts by the CEO.

The board, in a leaked letter, demanded explanations from Ms. Essiam over some financial decisions she took last year.

However, Ms. Essiam denied claims of awarding several contracts worth millions of Ghana cedis without recourse to the company’s board.

The impasse intensified after Ms. Essiam sacked the Finance and Accounts Manager, Julius Opuni Asamoah, who is also a member of the Board.

Enraged by the decision of the CEO, the Board accused the CEO of exercising powers she didn’t have and subsequently suspended her after a meeting held outside the company.

But Ms. Essiam maintained that Mr. Asamoah was on probation and could be sacked if his performance was unsatisfactory.

Due to the impasse, workers of the company did not report to work on Tuesday, May 8, 2018.

Some workers of the company staged a demonstration to protest against her suspension by the Board.

Subsequent to that the State Enterprises Commission (SEC) set up a committee to probe the issues at company.

The committee submitted its findings to the Chief Executive of the Commission for the necessary actions to be taken.

SEC made its recommendations to the President who subsequently ordered the dissolution of the board.

 From Vincent Kubi, Tema