A private legal practitioner, Mr Justice Srem Sai has said the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Dr K. K. Sarpong must resign over the misunderstanding between him and the Board Chair of the state-owned oil company, Mr Freddie Blay.
The heated fracas is in connection with the recruitment of a Procurement Manager.
Dr Sarpong, in a letter, accused Mr Blay of overstepping his boundaries by ordering the Chief Finance Officer (CFO) to proceed with the recruitment process without recourse to him (Dr Sarpong) even though the CFO is a subordinate.
Dr Sarpong said he saw the action of Mr Blay as interference and accused him of using his role as the national chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) to execute functions at GNPC without recourse to professional standards.
In his response, Mr Blay challenged the CEO on his assertions, insisting that the Board has the authority to recruit officers. He subsequently requested the withdrawal of the letter written by the CEO to the CFO, to affirm the recruitment of the procurement manager.
“It should be clear to you that the Board and not the CEO is the appointing authority. Professionalism, which you refer to in your letter, requires that the CEO of a state-owned entity operate within and respect the law.
“While you must take the initiative, you are legally and professionally obliged to seek approval of the Board for all recruitments and any restructuring,” Mr Blay stated.
He added: “The truth is, under your leadership and watch; our corporation has had no Procurement Manager for so long in spite of several directives from the Board to your office to take the necessary steps to fill that vacancy. This dereliction of duty can simply not continue.
“Playing the blame game, which you are now engaged in, will not pass. The buck stops with you Dr K.K. Sarpong, as the CEO. Please understand and very clearly, that the recent Board directive and two-week ultimatum on this matter was conveyed to the Chief Finance Officer, also in her capacity as Acting CEO, when we held that particular emergency meeting. The ultimatum stands and it is up to you to comply or chose to ignore it.”
Reacting to this development on the Executive Breakfast Show (EBS) on Class91.3FM on Monday, 18 January 2019, Mr Sai said: “Letting the Board Chairman go means that the CEO has won and then the next Board Chairman will also have to pander to that CEO. So, it makes a lot of sense, not because he’s wrong, not because he’s done anything which is untoward, but to keep the Board above the CEO, I think it will be better if the CEO goes…”
“The Board is above the CEO. The CEO reports to the Board, so, if there’s a conflict of this nature and you pluck off the Board Chair, you basically put the CEO above the Board,” he explained.
ClassFM
