SHC managing director reacts

Page 31 Jan 16/01/08

Story: Charles Benoni Okine

THE Managing Director of the State Housing Company (SHC), Mr Anthony Kwaku Sarpong Mensah, has indicated his preparedness to co-operate with any committee to audit his stewardship as the head of the company.
He stated however, that he will only leave office if his employer, the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing so directs.
Mr Mensah who spoke to the Daily Graphic in reaction to calls from the workers union of the company on him to resign said “I have not done anything wrong when it comes to the finances of the company. My employer has also not told me to leave office and until it says so, I am still the head of the company”.
The SHC workers on Monday embarked on a demonstration to call for the immediate retirement of Mr Mensah, whom they said had refused to retire after a two-year extension of his contract.
According to the Chairman of the Local Workers Union (LWU) of the company, Mr Samuel Atobrah, the director’s tenure had expired since 2006 but it was renewed by the then sector Minister, Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, upon the director’s request.
Mr Atobrah said Mr Mensah had no mandate to hold himself as the Managing Director because his contract had expired.
Mr Mensah admitted that his contract was renewed last year by the then Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyemang which expired on December 17, 2007.
He said while in office before the expiry of his contract, a letter signed on behalf of the present sector minister by the Chief Director, Mr K. Amoa Gyarteng and copied to the Secretary to the President under the headline “Retirement As Managing Director” said “Your letter of 12th December, 2007 on the above subject matter refers. I am to inform you to stay action to enable the Hon. Minister to conclude discussions on the issue currently taking place”.
“The Board will certainly be informed of the outcome of the discussions for the way forward”, the letter concluded.
According to Mr Mensah, with the afore mentioned letter, neither the workers union nor the board chairman of the company can ask him to resign.
He however, reiterated that he was prepared to leave when asked to do so “but I am not leaving now because those who appointed me have not asked me to do so; Again, I am not 64 years as they claim, I am 62 now”.
On allegation that he sold portions of the land of the company at its head office for about Gh¢700,000 and misapplied the money, he explained that the amount generated from the sale of the land was not as much as the workers claim.
“We sold five acres for Gh¢200,000 each ; We then gave the money to the operations department of the company to turn around so that we could get some to pay workers salaries”, he said.
Mr Sarpong Mensah said since then the company is able to pay itself from some of the returns of that investment.
He said the company’s total salary bill is about Gh¢100,000 a month and it was as a result of this huge size of the bill that the old board called for what he termed as “productivity screening” which is being implemented by the current board.
He said the company still had some challenges but noted that much as frantic efforts were being made to surmount them, such unfortunate developments may have a negative impact on the fortunes of the company.
Mr Sarpong Mensah called for calm to enable work to progress as usual to enable the company to generate funds for expansion and other activities.
Meanwhile, red flags are still flying high on the gates and buildings of the head office of the company in Accra.