Exim Bank brand ambassador ‘sings praises’ for Akufo-Addo - Ras Mubarak

A member of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Ras Mubarak, has alleged that some persons the Ghana Export and Import Bank (Ghana EXIM) paid money to as brand ambassadors have been campaigning for President Nana Akufo-Addo.

According to him, even though the Ghana Exim Bank has admitted to paying some celebrities to promote Made in Ghana goods, evidence of such an activity is non-existent.

“If you give somebody a job to be a brand ambassador and you are actually seeing it, manifesting, then all well and good – the job is getting done. But if you give Agya Koo some money and the next thing we are hearing is ‘4 more for whatever’ instead of focusing on the work…we are rather hearing appellations and praises of the ruling government, it clearly tells you that something is amiss,” he said.

Ras Mubarak early on this week alleged that Ghana Exim Bank has paid GH¢2 million to dancehall artiste Shatta Wale to promote Made in Ghana products.

Popular Kumawood actor, Kofi Adu, known popularly as Agya Koo, also received an undisclosed sum of money to be a brand ambassador for the Ghana EXIM.

At the PAC hearing on Wednesday, September 9, the Kumbungu lawmaker indicated that it was strange for Ghana Exim Bank to pay such an amount of money to an artiste.

He told GhanaWeb on Thursday, September 10, 2020, in an exclusive interview that in the coming days, top executives of Ghana Exim Bank will be invited again to the Public Accounts Committee to provide better particulars for the monies the bank has dished out.

“This is an unfolding story, this is something that we want to get to the bottom of. We intend inviting Exim bank back if the Chair of the committee so approves…it will be interesting to know if the Ghana EXIM dished out the money to run campaign for the ruling government. But I don’t know and I don’t want to prejudice it.

“But I also find it interesting that just about the time that these monies have been paid, we are all of a sudden hearing more praises onto the ruling establishment. It tells you that something is amiss,” he said.