The Board of Directors of the Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company (GCMC) has suspended the Chief Executive Officer, Ms Frances Essiam.
According to sources close to Graphic Online, the board, at an emergency meeting Tuesday, resolved to suspend Ms Essiam following some disagreements.
Before the emergency meeting, some customers of the GCMC had been turned away from doing business with the company following an alleged order by Ms Essiam to shut the company down.
The production of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) bottles and the sale of LPG were suspended, while the workers were allegedly instructed by the CEO to stay off work.
The speculation was that the directive to the workers to stay at home was because the CEO wanted to prevent the company’s board of directors from holding an emergency meeting on the premises over allegations of corruption and alleged procurement deals.
Some customers who were at the company to do business left disappointed, as there were no officials to attend to them when the Daily Graphic visited the company at 12 noon Tuesday.
Even the security people at the main entrance refused to engage the customers, compelling them to leave after waiting for some time.
Members of the board of directors who turned up at the company at 2:20 p.m. yesterday to attend the emergency meeting were also locked out and had to use the Robinhood Hotel nearby as an alternative venue for the meeting.
Some operatives of the National Security who were also on the factory premises about 2:35 p.m. nearly had a standoff with journalists who were taking photographs of the company’s locked gate, with the notice “No Gas” posted on it.
Concerns
The Chairman of the GCMC Board, Mr Frank Boakye Agyen, had, in a letter dated April 13, 2018 and addressed to the Chief of Staff, with a copy to the Minister of Energy, requested Ms Essiam to answer to the company’s old machinery which had been discarded and sold as scrap metal without due process.
The letter also queried the decision of the CEO to award purchase and construction contracts without prior approval from the Ministry of Energy.
It also queried Ms Essiam’s decision to procure loans for the payment of salaries without the necessary approval.
Sources at the company told the Daily Graphic that at the close of work on Monday, May 7, 2018, the workers were called by some of the top officials of the company and asked not to report for work Tuesday.
CEO’s response
Ms Essiam, who spoke to the Daily Graphic on telephone, denied that the company had shut down its operations for yesterday and described the corruption allegations as baseless.
She said the company had run out of LPG and also had no domestic cylinders for sale.
She added that the bottles they had in stock were for distinct clients and not for sale to the public.
“The board chairman is just making baseless accusations of corruption, malpractices, mismanagement, procurement. He is just saying things without any basis, and as far as I am concerned, there have been no corruption, mismanagement and procurement infractions. The board chairman who is alleging must prove, and since he is coming with equity, he must come with clean hands,” she said.
Asked how long the shutdown would last, Ms Essiam shot back: “Who said the company has been shut down? If you go to an organisation and you do not meet those in charge, does that mean the organisation has shut down?”
She said the issues involving the company’s operations were being handled by the State Enterprises Commission.
Board Chairman
The Board Chairman, who was in the vicinity of the company’s premises, declined to comment on the incident.
“We are yet to hold our meeting and we will communicate our decision to the media subsequently,” Mr Agyen told journalists who were at the factory to get first-hand information on the closure.
Source: Graphic.com
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Madam Essien has helped the party oo. You should leave her to work. She left her party campaigning for NPP, speaking on Oman FM very late in the night to the get NPP in power. Please don't betray her, settle the issue amicably. I love you Mum.
Can the Board chair suspend her without the president’s approval? I thought they have to make recommendations to the president and let him take the decision.
when u appoint too many politicians instead of competent technocrats, this is what u get.
all this is happenening bcos Nana Addo has appointed politicians to do posts that are supposed to be done by qualified professionals. And also because Nana Addo did not deal with corrruption that he came to inherit and was wasting time. So now, it is no longer NDC corruption, it is NPP. Nana Addo bragged that pple who want to make money shld do so in private sector. But look at what is happeneing! Ghana will continue to be poor under NDC or NPP.
There has been allegations flying about. Mdadm Essiam alleges that, the previous Board members under NDC took 600 GHC for the chairman and 5ooGHC for other members. This new board by our President takes 3000 GHC for chair and the others 1000GHC. GCMC is not a well resources company. She is does not want to pay that. Is that the reason why the board is suspending her? Madam Essiam would not keep quiet ooo. She is talking on Kasapa FM and others
Marks of incompetence, i knew a day as such was gonna come. Managing a business is entirely different from being loud and foul mouth on political platforms. You thought you could because you could talk as unmeaning-fully loud and you were hailed. That is only bought in politics. Nana must find something else for the girl to do. Yawa