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GHAMRO saga: Financial malpractice allegation against us unfounded - Amandzeba

By MyJoyOnline
General News GHAMRO saga: Financial malpractice allegation against us unfounded - Amandzeba
MAR 5, 2015 LISTEN

Amandzeba Nat Brew, a member of the defunct Carlos Sakyi-led Ghana Music Rights Organization (GHAMRO) board, that was accused of misappropriating about GHȼ1 million , has denied the allegation.

According to him, the allegations are unfounded and urged that since the matter is currently in court, the general public and interested persons should wait for the outcome before jumping into conclusion.

The Carlos Sakyi management board, which was asked to step aside by the Human Rights Court in Accra on July 11, 2014 , is said to have misapplied the monies from 2012 to 2014.

Other key members of the management board included KK Kabobo and Mark Okraku Mantey.

Speaking in an interview with Myjoyonline.com, Amandzeba Nat Brew said while he admits that the board has to account for its stewardship, a hasty judgment on the matter is inappropriate.

He noted that past boards have also been accused of misappropriating funds but “the point is we haven't gotten to the bottom of the whole thing so why do people want to rush to conclude.”

“Everybody who has been part of this collective management organization from Madam Betty Mould's time right down to Carlos Sakyi's time has had one allegation or the other thrown against him or her. Fortunately for those people, it was not a legal matter but now it is a legal matter. Since we believe in the rule of law [we should let the law run its course],” Amandzeba urged.

He was of the view that, “Definitely when people get into office, they must account for their stewardship there is no running away from that fact but the fact of the matter is we haven't even finished the case so why would we want to rush and hang our brothers only to maybe say sorry tomorrow?”

The 'Wogbe j3k3' hit singer urged that caution must be taken in such matters because “we've got reputations and lives to protect…”

He stressed that the allegations levelled against them are false, stating, “The acrimony keep increasing with allegations like this and if you don't take a deep breath before you answer to it you [act inappropriately].”

The Carlos Sakyi board, Amandzeba noted, has documents to back every transaction that was undertaken during their tenure. “Everything that went on at GHAMRO and all the funds that they are alleging were misappropriated have documents and everything to support it. Everything is at the office.”  

He said after the court ruling, that saw them vacate office, the old board ought to have been given the opportunity to hand over fully to the new board but more than six months after, that has not been done.

On Wednesday, February 11, after a successful GHAMRO elections, music maestro Kojo Antwi was sworn in to serve a two-year term, together with eight other board members, as Chairman of the music rights body .

Commenting on the new board, Amandzeba said he expects “them to work harder and much better than we the [past board].”

He added that, “I think everybody is quite capable” the only problem is “we love to cut our noses to spite our faces. We make news and we make it easier for people to get products to send out there. When you belong to a family, there are very civil ways of doing things.” Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Ernest Dela Aglanu (Twitter: @delaXdela / Instagram: citizendela)

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