I didn't pay money for recognition at 6th Ghana Ministers of State Excellence Awards — Prof Gyampo

The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Shippers Authority (GSA), Professor Ransford Gyampo, has stated that neither he nor his outfit paid money for recognition at the 6th Ghana Ministers of State Excellence Awards.

The awards ceremony, held on Saturday, June 6, saw Prof Gyampo win Best-performing CEO in the State Companies category.

The event has since attracted public criticism following claims by the Chief Executive Officer of the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA), Professor Michael Kpessa-Whyte, that awardees were allegedly asked to pay between GH¢25,000 and GH¢50,000.

The controversy has also prompted the Presidency to direct government appointees not to participate in or accept awards from unauthorised schemes.

Reacting to the matter on Accra-based TV3's KeyPoints programme on Saturday, June 13, Prof Gyampo argued that neither he nor the Ghana Shippers Authority made any payment in connection with the award.

"In this particular instance that we are talking about, we didn't go and pay anything. Our people went in there and then they said they had been nominated for an award... there was no payment at all," he said.

Prof Gyampo acknowledged that some award organisers often approach institutions with optional offers for publicity, advertising space in event brochures or special recognition packages that attract fees.

However, he stressed that no such payment arrangement existed in the case of the award received by the Ghana Shippers Authority.

He further argued that it would be unfair to assume that all recipients of the awards paid money to secure recognition.

"I also looked at the people, including the Finance Minister's person. It is so condescending and unfair for anybody to insinuate that he also went to pay money for that. I know his work and what he stands for," he stated.

The GSA boss stressed that his institution's performance justified the recognition he received, adding that public institutions should not automatically reject honours when independent organisations choose to acknowledge their work.

According to him, the recent directive from the Presidency provides clarity on how public officials should engage with such award schemes and will be followed going forward.