The Senior Management Staff Union and the Divisional Union of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) have called for the immediate suspension or termination of GBC Director-General Prof Amin Alhassan, citing serious financial, procurement and governance breaches uncovered in the forensic audit of the 13th African Games, Accra 2023.

In a petition dated June 1, 2026 addressed to the Chairperson of the National Media Commission, Prof Akua Opokua Britwum, the unions stated that they had repeatedly petitioned against the Director-General over alleged breaches of corporate governance, poor labour relations, abuse of office, corruption, financial mismanagement, and staff intimidation, but claimed that no meaningful action had been taken.

The 700-page audit report by the Ghana Audit Service also examined GBC’s role as host broadcaster for the 13th African Games in 2023, which was marred by financial irregularities totalling GH¢580,042,347.40 (five hundred and eighty million, forty-two thousand, three hundred and forty-seven Ghana cedis, forty pesewas).

The forensic audit, commissioned by President John Dramani Mahama in 2025, into the African Games organised and hosted in Ghana in 2023, revealed widespread cost inflation, irregular payments, and unsupported expenditure across event-related contracts.

The petition was jointly signed by Ebenezer Odzawo on behalf of the Senior Management Staff Union and Sam Nat Kevor for the Divisional Union of GBC, copied to President John Dramani Mahama, the Chief of Staff, the Minister for Government Communications, the Chairman of the Finance and Administration Committee of the National Media Commission, and the General Secretary of the Public Services Workers Union of the Trades Union Congress.

The unions said the audit report now gives their complaints greater urgency, alleging that it implicates Prof. Alhassan in diversion and questionable application of funds, non-compliance with procurement rules, financial loss to the state, and the engagement of service providers without formal contracts.

They asked the NMC to direct him to step aside pending a full forensic audit of GBC’s finances from October 2019 to May 2026 and independent investigations into the allegations of impropriety and corruption.

The unions warned that if the Commission does not act by the close of Thursday, 4 June 2026, they will embark on lawful industrial action to protect workers and the Corporation.

The attached audit report outlines a series of findings centred on GBC’s role as host broadcaster for the Games.

It said GBC engaged several service providers without explicit written contracts, including The Production Room, Silicon House Productions, and Broadstem Co Ltd, in engagements totalling about GH₵3.56 million.

Auditors said no signed contracts or legal instruments were provided to show the terms, scope, deliverables or pricing for those services, and recommended sanctions under the Public Procurement Act.

The report also raises concerns about the timing of procurement approvals, noting that requests for ratification from the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) were submitted only after the Games had ended and much of the work had already been done.

According to the audit, GBC sought approval for single-source procurement months after the contracts had been executed, which the auditors said was contrary to the principle of prior approval under public procurement rules.

The report further said there was no evidence of price benchmarking, market surveys or a proper justification for single-source procurement.

Among the larger contracts reviewed were a €2,056,534 agreement with PGS for the International Broadcast Centre and a $1 million contract with Quality Media Producciones S.L. for broadcast production services.

Yet the audit found that GBC staff were deployed extensively to perform technical and editorial work across venues, even though the contracts indicated that external providers were supposed to supply the necessary personnel.

Auditors said there was no revenue-sharing or reimbursement arrangement between GBC and the firms to compensate the corporation for the use of its staff, creating a risk of revenue leakage and financial loss to the state.

The report is equally critical of a € 57,030 training contract with The Production Room. It said the contract was based on an unsolicited proposal, with no evidence of competition, needs assessment or value-for-money analysis, and that payment was made in advance without safeguards tied to deliverables.

Auditors said they found no training schedules, attendance sheets, materials or completion certificates to prove that the training took place, and described the arrangement as wasteful expenditure that caused financial loss to GBC and the state.

The audit also said GBC management failed to commercialise the broadcast rights for the Games effectively.

While the Local Organising Committee had projected $5,000,000 from broadcasting rights, the report said only two broadcast licences were secured, bringing in a total of $45,000, while GBC itself spent $3,600,000 on broadcast-related costs.

It further states that SuperSport, part of DSTV, was allowed to broadcast the Games without paying a licence fee, and that no documentation was produced to justify a free licence to a major international broadcaster.

The auditors concluded that the gap between projected and realised revenue amounted to a substantial loss for the state.

Beyond procurement and revenue issues, the report also describes failures in leadership and staff welfare during the Games.

It said some management staff were unaware of GBC’s formal role in the African Games until the matter drew public attention at Public Accounts Committee hearings.

It also said management initially proposed a daily allowance of GH₵200 for deployed staff, later reduced it unilaterally to GH₵50 before negotiations settled at GH₵100, and that the process did not comply with the collective agreement.

Staff also complained about transport, feeding and poor working conditions, with camera operators reportedly forced to stand in direct sunlight for long periods. The unions’ petition, backed by the audit’s findings, has now turned the matter into a broader test of accountability at GBC and at the National Media Commission.

Meanwhile, GBC has clarified its role in the broadcast of the 13th All-African Games following findings contained in the Auditor-General’s report.

Responding to concerns over procurement compliance, GBC acknowledged delays in regularising the process but explained that it was engaged late to serve as the host broadcaster for the 13th All-African Games, which necessitated a single-source procurement approach.

GBC also rejected claims that it had been informed of plans to generate $5 million from the sale of broadcasting rights for the Games, stating that no such directive was communicated to the corporation, either verbally, in writing, or through any official instruction.

On the granting of free broadcast rights to SuperSport, GBC said it acted on direct instructions from the Local Organising Committee Chair, Dr Kweku Ofosu-Asare, who directed that the rights be issued at no cost.

The corporation maintains that all its actions were based on official authorisation rather than independent managerial discretion.

GBC further addressed concerns regarding an alleged irregular training contract with a production room (TPR), insisting that the training was conducted and that participants described it as impactful and relevant to their professional development.

On the agreement with TPR, management explained that the original contract covered the supply of six laptops. Following an internal assessment, GBC requested two additional laptops and asked TPR to formally vary the contract to reflect a revised total of eight laptops.

According to GBC, TPR subsequently submitted a written proposal confirming the variation to the original agreement.