I ditched my high paying job for GBC - Amankwah Ampofo

Money is often a key consideration for employees when seeking for a job - after all, the vast majority of people work because they need to pay their bills. Intriguingly, veteran broadcast journalist, actor and scriptwriter, Amankwah Ampofo, is different.

The senior journalist has disclosed he ditched his lucrative job at Cocoa Marketing Board (CMB) to join low-paying Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) as a production assistant in the 1970s.

Sitting with Agyemang Prempeh on the Legends programme which aired on Sunday evening, the ace broadcaster said his decision was fuelled by his passion for journalism and culture.

"GBC's pay wasn't good. Before leaving CMB to GBC my salary was high. It was GHS60 but GBC was GHS42," the veteran broadcaster said on TV XYZ.

"I discovered I had something within which it wouldn't be productive at CMB but can utilize it at GBC. While still at CMB I had a programme on GBC. I had the passion for radio. I felt okay being employed by GBC. I got exposed, had the opportunity to exhibit my talents at various things aside composing songs for my cultural group. They performed the songs. I was able to do drama, sketch, and a lot more, to the television programme," Mr Ampofo disclosed.

Born Charles Amankwah Ampofo worked for three decades at the state-owned media organisation before he retired.

Throughout his stay at GBC he anchored the Akan news and hosted several programmes on both the radio and television stations.

According to him, despite his loyal service and dedication towards the growth of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation for thirty-two years, he received a pittance as his end of service benefit.

He said, "Calculating the money I was given it wasn't up to two hundred million (GHC20,000)."

Mr Ampofo accused his superordinates for working against his progress during his stint with the GBC stating "they were not kind to me"

"The reason is, you've to reach the senior grade before you get a whopping sum of money. Unfortunately, my bosses were not kind to me, so, I couldn't get to that level," he explained.

Emotional Amankwah Ampofo indicated that he doesn't, "don't know" why he was sabotaged, adding, "I remained in the same position for eight years. I wasn't promoted"

Although he was unfairly treated he enjoyed serving the country through his journalism career and never at a point bamoaned the unjust treatment meted out to him.

Using his personal experience to advice workers in the various State Owned Enterprises (SEO), the 67-year-old retired media practitioner said they should, "be focused on something and when you leave office you'll depend on it, because if you rely on the government pension benefits that after your service you will reap bountifully. It's not wholly true. It is an assumption."

He added that, "they threatened us with that to prevent us from looting the government's property. So you will be stagnant. That made me stagnant for years (at the GBC). What pained me, it doesn't pain me is that I stayed loyal during the emergence of TV and radio stations I was a hotcake."