Despite an earlier threat to strike on Monday July 25, workers of the state broadcaster, Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), have abandoned work and taken to the streets in protest.
According to Citi News’ Kwame Botchway, the workers have set up a checkpoint at the entrance of the Corporation.
Kwame Botchway quotes the workers as saying that, they have “picked up intelligence that the Corporation’s board is expected to have a meeting at the GBC this afternoon.
Therefore they are out in their numbers to ensure no board member gets onto the premises, Kwame Botchway noted.
The workers have accused the board of “micromanaging the affairs of GBC” and misappropriating GBC’s internally generated funds by “illegally” employing directors without recourse to due process.
They have vowed to continue protesting until their demands for the dissolution of the Board of the Corporation are met.
NMC absolves GBC Board
Meanwhile the National Media Commission (NMC), has cleared the governing board of GBC of any wrongdoing after a petition sent to them by the workers’ union.
The Executive Secretary of NMC, George Sarpong, debunked the claims saying their investigations proved that the board was innocent of the allegations that had been levelled against it.
“The GBC union made a number of allegations to the commission. The commission established a committee to independently investigate the claims and the committee took each of the claims one by one and gave the union the opportunity to prove the case against the people. They could not substantiate any of the claims they made,” he said
“They took time to investigate this matter thoroughly beyond the claim that the GBC union made. The commission went out of its ways and investigate further into the matter and found that those allegations were unsustainable,” Mr. Sarpong added.
NMC ‘in bed’ with board
The workers accused the NMC of betraying them by lodging a complaint with the Police because of their decision to prohibit the GBC board members from entering the premises.
A worker at the GBC who spoke to Citi News on condition of anonymity said: “The NMC has refused to objectively consider the issues in question, when they came out with their fictitious reports earlier to clear the board, they were popping champagne and celebrating.”
Protesting workers to be punished
Management of the GBC has said it will crack down on the protesting workers.
A memo sighted by Citi News indicated that, any person who was a signatory to a document declaring the GBC board persona non grata, will be punished.
“GBC management considers the whole write up as misconduct on the part of the signatories to the notice and appropriate procedures will be invoked to ensure sanity within the corporation’s governance structure,” the memo stated.
The memo also noted that, the “the union does not have the mandate to declare the board persona non grata. Constitutionally, the National Media Commission (NMC), is the statutory body mandated to appoint and dissolve the GBC board.”
“Any grievance about the work or conduct of the board should be reported to the NMC for redress.”
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By: Edwin Kwakofi and Kwame Botchway/citifmonline.com/Ghana