The Inside Story of GIA Saga

How Chief Of Staff Planned Dismissal In Feb.
AFTER months of failed attempts to boot out the Management Team of the Ghana International Airlines (GIA) Ltd., Mr. Kwadwo Mpianim, the Minister of Presidential Affairs and the Chief of Staff formally succeeded when last week security personnel were sent to the offices of the airline to throw out the management board.

However, The Sun can report that the dismissal of Brian H. Presbury, led Management started early this year but manifested to the public only last Friday.

The paper sources at Castle indicated that, it all started in February 10, this year, when the Chief of Staff took a unilateral decision and issued a dismissal letter to the management team of the G IA.

[In his letter published together with the story and other documents in the page three of this paper], the Chief of Staff claimed that the Management Team ?nicodemusly? withdrew $1.9 million from the GIA?s New York City accounts without the knowledge or the consent of the stakeholders of the airline. This was after he has raised concern about how the airline was being run. He therefore described as dishonest and fishy deal and fired the dismissal to the effect.

?We have recently discovered that on or about June 27, 2005, the amount of $1.9 million was withdrawn from the GIA bank account in New York City without our approval or the approval of the Board of Directors of the company. This dishonesty behavior is reprehensible and will not be tolerated by us ,? Chief of Staff wrote in February 10.

Then came the bombshell, ?Based on the forgoing, we have concluded that your continued management role in GIA is not tenable. The board of directors of the GIA shall appoint a new management team which shall be answerable to the Board of Directors with immediate effect,? he stated.

However after his dismissal letter it emerged that the stakeholders including him (the Chief of Staff) were party to the withdrawal of $1.9m or had given the management the nod to carry out such transaction. As to why he turned round to attack the management over an issue he was involved is a mystery, the Sun is researching.

To set the records straight on February 16, this year K Archy and Co., the solicitors for the management of the GIA responded to the Chief of Staff Dismissal letter. The response stated that ?The concerns raised in your letter on Ralph Atkin and the transfer of $1.9million has been explained as decisions taken after a series of discussions with you and the Board members who gave our clients the' nod to do whatever possible to save the crises situation that GIAL faced at the time?,.

"The shareholders agree that they will cause the directors that they have designated and which are elected as directors to approve the management team proposed by GIA-USA from time to time", the solicitors explained "The services of the management team will not be terminated by the Board of Directors or the shareholders without the unanimous vote of the shareholders,"

" Please note that above provisions in the legal binding shareholders agreement makes your unilateral termination of the service of the management Team legally unmeritorious and therefore void," the management Team responded.

"There have been several failed boardroom attempts by the Chief of Staff to takeover the running of the, GIA when he realized that the airline was now finding its feet and what he did last Friday was a dream come true for him," an official of the airline who did not want to be quoted told the Sun. It would be recalled that the executives of GIA met Mr.Mpianim, at the Castle for meeting to discuss the operations of the airline.

However, the meeting run into confusion and ended abruptly. The Chief Staff said he was offended by the CEO of the Airline and ordered that the appointment of the management team be terminated.

The paper learnt that hell break loose after the Officials of the airline have refused to accept certain new conditions that the Minister was trying to introduce.

In the process, the officials of the Airline led by Mr. Brian Presbury, Chief Executive Officer were virtually shown the exit from the Castle after Chief of Staff has told the CEO that he has been fired.

Minutes after meeting castle security were deplored to lock up the Executives Officers of the GIA.

Director of National Security, Mr K. Duodu was one of the security personnel who stormed the Silver Towers premises of the GIA near the Kotoka International Airport.