$100K saga: 20 sat on high table – Ashim Morton

Ashim Morton, President of the Millennium Excellence Foundation, organisers of the Millennium Excellence awards, has clarified that twenty persons sat on the high table during an awards ceremony the foundation organised last year for expatriate businesses.

His clarification comes on the heels of comments by the Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen, at the same parliamentary committee probing the circumstances under which businessmen paid $100,000 to sit close to the president’s table, that 17 people sat by Nana Akufo-Addo.

Apart from Mr Kyeremanten and the president, the 15 others at the high table, as he named them, were: Carlos Ahenkorah, Deputy Trade Minister; Mr Ashim Morton, President of Millennium Excellence Foundation; Mr Amarh Hari, Chief Executive of IPMC; Mr Ashok Mohinani, Chairman of Mohinani Group; Mr Salem Kalmoni, Chief Executive of Japan Motors; former President Jerry John Rawlings and his wife; Mr Saied Fakhry, Executive Chairman of Interplast Ghana Limited; Ms Roshi Motman, Chief Executive of AirtelTigo Ghana; Mr Jim Ovia, Founder and Executive Chairman of Zenith Bank Group; Mr Bhagwan Khubchandani, Chief Executive of Melcom Ghana.

The rest are Mr David Haper, Chief Executive of Geodrill Ghana; Mr. Mike Tacwani, Chief Executive of B Pipe Plus Ghana; Yofi Grant, CEO of GIPC; Yeo Ziobeieton, Chief Executive of Unilever Ghana; and Ishmael Ashitey, Greater Accra Regional Minister.

But taking his turn at the committee hearing, Mr Morten explained that: “I was watching the presentation of the Minister of Trade and Industry and he made a statement that 17 seats were on the high table. I will like to make a small correction.

“When he mentioned all the names, he mentioned the former President and Head of State Jerry John Rawlings and his wife; that is two. So that makes the number eighteen. Now he did not mention our chairman Ambassador Victor Gbeho, and he did not mention Joe Mensah from Cosmos.

“So if you add those two with the former first lady, it becomes twenty.”