Trade Ministry Make Over 2 Million Cedis In Expatriate Business Awards

A total amount of GHC2,667,215 was realized from the controversial Ghana Expatriate Business Awards.

This was revealed by the minister for Trades and Industry, Mr. Alan Kyeremanteng following a query by the president with regards to charging expatriates 100,000 cedis for a seat close to the president at the Ghana Expatriate Business Awards (GEBA).

In his response to the query by president Akufo Addo, the Trades minister further added that the Millennium Excellence Foundation was totally in charge of the structure and distribution of the sponsorship package for the event, although it was operating under guidelines provided by the Ministry.

As part of arrangements towards the organisation of the event, the Ministry of Trade and Industry insisted that, all monies raised in support of the event be paid into an account held by the Ministry “to ensure financial integrity and accountability which the organizers agreed to.”

A leaked document revealed that the expatriates were charged to pay an amount of $ 100,000 before they could sit close the president at the Ghana Expatriate Business Awards (GEBA).

This development was first exposed by the NDC MP for Asawase Muntaka Mubarak in Parliament.

This has prompted the president to summon the Trades Minister, to provide furnish him with information on the development.

Meanwhile the president in a statement has since cleared the ministry of any wrongdoing and urged it to put out the facts before the public domain.

“From the information available to the Ministry, there was no extortion of monies from any expatriate business owner as being alleged. Indeed, no single individual has come out to make a claim of extortion,”