GBC receives $105,000 from over $3m paid for African Games production

Out of the over $3 million paid for media production of the 13th All African Games, the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) received $105,000.

Use of funds and clarification
Director General of GBC, Professor Amin Alhassan, explained that the $105,000 received by GBC was used to offset the corporation’s opportunity costs.

He clarified that this amount was specifically provided to support GBC’s decision to dedicate an entire channel to the African Games, which involved suspending regular programming on GTV Sports Plus.

Ministerial statement and clarification
Minister of Youth and Sports, Mustapha Ussif, had informed the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament that in excess of $3 million was paid to GBC for the Games’ coverage.

However, Prof. Alhassan clarified that while GBC was the official broadcaster, it did not directly benefit from the majority of the funds.

Instead, GBC facilitated payments to foreign third parties who were responsible for the production, as GBC lacked the necessary equipment to produce the Games themselves.

Role of third-party production companies
Prof. Alhassan further explained that GBC supervised technical teams from companies like PGS, Quality Media Productions S.L., and The Production Room (TPR), who brought their own production equipment to Ghana to handle the Games’ technical production.

Payment of technicians
Addressing concerns about unpaid technicians, Prof. Alhassan debunked claims that some technicians who worked during the African Games had not been compensated.

He affirmed that all technicians engaged by GBC were duly paid, stating that an accounts officer and an internal auditor were sent to each location daily to ensure compensation was provided.

Each GBC employee received a daily allowance of GH₵100 while on location.