GBC Boss Under Siege

• Board moves to frustrate him out?

There is every indication that the Director General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) is being frustrated out of the state broadcaster by a carefully knit agenda by the Board of Directors and some of his subordinates.

Mr. William Ampem Darko, who returned from leave on Monday, 2nd November, was sent again on a long leave yesterday, Tuesday 3rd November 2009, by the Board, to resume duty on Monday 9th November 2010, contrary to corporate procedure.

Under the laid down procedure, any person in management position wishing to go on leave is to apply on his own volition to the Board who will then vet it before giving the go-ahead in a letter signed by the chairman.

A publication posted on the notice board of GBC on Tuesday by the Public Relations Department regarding Mr. Ampem Darko’s protracted leave under the heading ‘EXTENDED VACATION LEAVE,’ read:

“The Board of Directors at its 10th Ordinary Meeting held on Tuesday 27th October 2009 decided that the Director-General should take the rest of his 2008-2009 leave of 65 working days.

The Director-General will resume duty on Monday, 9th February 2010.”

This came as a surprise to many of the staff of GBC because those officers scheduled to go on leave this month have not been asked to do so. These include Deputy Director General, Director General in charge of television, Director of Technical Operations, Director of Business and Special Assistant (Finance, Audit and Regional Operations).

Information available to The Catalyst indicates that the leave form signifying Mr. Ampem Darko’s prolonged leave was signed by the Chairman of the Board even before he resumed duty on Monday.

This paper has also learnt that some of his subordinates, including Alhaji Chodi, Deputy Director General, were in full knowledge of what was to befall the Director General on his return from leave.

The decision to send the GBC Boss back on a long forced leave just a day after he resumed duty has sent tongues wagging within GBC as to what exactly is going on with his status as head of the Corporation.

Mr. George Sarpong, Executive Secretary of the National Media Commission (NMC), is reported to have frowned on the current development at GBC.

The NMC, by law, has oversight responsibility over GBC. “If there is any problem, we (NMC) have to be informed. Things cannot just be done like that if it is true. But we will check the facts,” he was reported as saying.

Some have said that there is a plot to throw Mr. Ampem Darko out. And because the Board of Directors lacks the constitutional power to sack him, it is resorting to subtle moves to frustrate him out office. The National Media Commission (NMC) is the only body with the constitutional mandate to sack the Director General of GBC.

The Board has been criticized for engaging in micro-management of GBC, contrary to its mandate of giving general governance and policy direction to the management of the state broadcaster.

The Catalyst has also learned that whiles he was on leave, the Board took certain management decisions in his absence that flies in the face of noninterference. A key issue in this regard is the reinstatement of Mensah Nyarko who was summarily dismissed by the management of GBC before the Director General proceeded on leave.

When The Catalyst reached the beleaguered GBC Director on phone for his comment on the developments, he said “No Comment.” The GBC boss was faced with enormous public criticism over his outfit’s failure to telecast live President Atta Mills’ address at the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York. GBC subsequently apologized for the inconvenience.

Mr. Ampem Darko, who was appointed in July 2007 under the Kufuor-led NPP government, is said to have done a yeoman’s job in putting GBC back on a sound financial footing.

Our information has it that before he took office, GBC could generate only some ¢2 billion old cedis a month, but through his innovations, GBC’s monthly income has shot up to an average of ¢8 billion old cedis a month.

Under Mr. Ampem Darko, GBC workers are paid a sum of ¢800 million, which is 10% of target as bonus anytime the state broadcaster hits a monthly target of ¢8 billion.

Mr. Ampem Darko has recently come under severe attacks from elements within his own party, New Patriotic Party (NPP), for what some say has come about due to the feeling within the NPP that the opposition party’s bidding is not being done by the Director General who wants to focus on doing a professional job under the Atta Mills-led NDC government other than pleasing his party.