Dr Agnes Adu at the PAC sitting yesterday
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament has ordered the clerk to the committee to invite the immediate-past Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Trade Fair Company Ltd (GTFC), Dr Erasmus Okpoti Koney and one Mr. Brown to come and answer questions on some stolen payment vouchers amounting to GH?349,000 from the accountant’s office during his tenure.
During its public hearing yesterday, the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament was told by the current CEO of the company – Dr Agnes Adu – that the payment vouchers could not be accounted for when officials from the Auditor-General’s Office audited the company in 2014.
She claimed the development was attributed to unknown thieves who broke into the office of the accountant to steal payment vouchers.
This prompted Chairman of the Committee, James Klutse Avedzi, to call for the invitation of the former CEO and accountant to appear before the committee to answer certain questions.
Dr. Adu explained to the committee that the company suffered from mismanagement during the past 10 years, resulting in its inability to pay its electricity bills for the past three years.
The CEO said that the company could also not pay salaries of employees of the company which became outstanding for 18 months and affected the morale of employees.
She also revealed that since 1999, the company, which has been weaned off government subvention, has failed to file its returns with the State Enterprises Commission and Ministry of Finance.
According to the new CEO, who took over in July, 2017, through prudent management, she has started turning things round and that all salary arrears of employees had been paid while outstanding electricity bills had been cleared. She said that the company is beginning to show signs of profitability.
She indicated that the company had been organizing a series of international trade fairs and grand sales, which are usually patronized by more than 500 exhibitors as compared to previous years when less than 100 exhibitors participated in such events because of bad management.
“Now, we have put in place pragmatic innovations to attract a large number of exhibitors to rake in more money for the company.”
She, however, said that many of the sheds and structures at the Trade Fair Centre are becoming increasingly dilapidated and would need urgent rehabilitation to improve services offered by the company.
The CEO denied allegations that she was receiving a monthly salary of GH?20,000, stressing that the board of directors has the mandate to fix her salary.
The accountant of the company, Franklin Kwasi Andrews, told the committee that as of now, the total assets of the company stand at GH?1.9 million because of the deterioration of the assets.
He also told the committee that the company generated total revenue of GH?2.5 million in 2018, as against expenditure of GH?3 million in the same year.
By Thomas Fosu Jnr