The organisers of the Ghana Ministers of State Excellence Honours have responded to claims that they asked the Director-General of the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA), Prof. Michael Kpessa-Whyte, to sponsor the event in exchange for an award.
The issue started after Prof. Kpessa-Whyte disclosed that he had been selected for a “Best CEO of the Year” award and invited to attend an awards ceremony at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel.
According to him, the organisers also sent a sponsorship proposal that included a GH¢50,000 sponsorship package or the option of buying a table for eight people at GH¢25,000.
Speaking in an interview on June 8, the Chief Executive Officer of Big Events Ghana, Prince Mackay, rejected suggestions that the organisers approached Prof. Kpessa-Whyte personally to sponsor the event in return for receiving an award.
“I would like to start by saying thank you to Professor Whyte for his support of the event. We are an event company. Whenever we organise events, we send sponsorship letters out there. It’s not the first time it has happened,” Mackay said.
He explained that the sponsorship request was sent to SIGA as an institution and not to Prof. Kpessa-Whyte as an individual.
“I want to repeat, we didn’t write to Professor Whyte in person. We never asked him to sponsor the award. It was SIGA as a body that we wrote to, where he is the CEO,” he said.
Mackay said seeking sponsorship is a normal part of organising events and questioned why the matter had generated so much controversy.
“If I wrote a letter for you to sponsor me and you refused to sponsor me, why then would you put a statement out there that I came to solicit money for an award? That is not what I did, or what the organisation did,” he said.
He added that SIGA eventually declined the sponsorship request, explaining that the proposal was submitted too late to be considered.
The Ghana Ministers of State Excellence Honours recently attracted public attention after honouring several ministers and heads of state institutions in the current administration.
Among the award recipients was Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, who received the Overall Best Minister of the Year award.
Despite the criticism, the organisers insist that the awards are meant to celebrate excellence and outstanding service in the public sector.
They also maintain that award recipients are not required to pay money or secure sponsorship in order to be recognised.
