Scandal hits PUSAG

…About GHc190,000 missing

By: Fred Yaw Sarpong

Investigation has revealed that an amount of GHc190,000 belonging to the Private Universities Students Association of Ghana (PUSAG) cannot be traced in  its Unibank account.

The GHc190, 000 is part of a GHc286,000 sponsorship package the association secured from the Unibank Ghana for its 2015 PUSAG Games and Entertainment Festival held in Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) last year.

The 2015 financial statement of the association quoted GHc96,000 as a sponsorship package instead of the GHc286,000.

The number 11 item (Note of Account) of the financial statement of the association (Sponsorship-cash equivalent) quoted GHc96,000 as a sponsorship package received by the then National Executive of PUSAG from Unibank in 2015.

Checks from Unibank Ghana (Account number withheld) revealed that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the bank and the association for the sponsorship.

Even though this reporter is yet to see a copy of the MoU, which PUSAG itself do not have a copy, Mr. Mohammed Adams Sukparu, the immediate past President of PUSAG and the immediate Chief Operations Officer of PUSAG, Mr. Oliver Aziator allegedly signed for the association and the amount involved was GHc286,000 but not the GHc96, 000 as quoted by the immediate past Executive of PUSAG.

This reporter is reliably informed that the current President of PUSAG, Mr. Richard Odame who was then a Director of International Affairs is allegedly a beneficiary of the cash and he is therefore trying to cover up the corrupt act of his predecessors.

Further checks from sources at Unibank Ghana and PUSAG confirmed that Unibank terminated the deal and didn’t support the 2016 PUSAG Games and Entertainment Festival that was held at the El-Wak Sport Stadium because the association failed to fulfill their part of the MoU which requires them to get their member institutions to save their SRC dues with Unibank after the bank paid the latter said amount into account of the association.

A former National Executive of PUSAG who spoke to this reporter confirmed this. However, he argued that the PUSAG games last year could not have cost GHc119, 000.00 because the 2014 didn’t cost more than GHc30,000.

He said Mr. Mohammed Adams Sukparu made some of the Senators and some National Executive Council (NEC) to believed that the Unibank deal was GHc96,000.

This reporter can state that the 2014/2015 administration has not been able to prove how they spent the said amount of money from the Unibank sponsorship.

Meanwhile, Mr. Richard Odame, the PUSAG President said in a telephone interview that after a three man committee set up to investigate the alleged malfeasance in the previous administration by the current executive, the committee found out that about GHc45,000 was missing.

“The response from the previous administration was that the GHc45,000 was wrongly disbursed because it was given to those who helped the association to secured the GHc286,000 sponsorship package from Unibank,” he pointed out.

According to him, they cannot find the copy of the MoU signed between the previous administration and the Unibank. “Unibank said they cannot find a copy of the MoU,” he added.

The PUSAG President confirmed that he was aware that the Unibank package was about GHc280,000.

Mr. Mohammed Adams Sukparu also confirmed to this reporter that the amount was GHc286,000. But he asks the reporter to look for the copy of PUSAG financial statement and it audited report.

This reporter is reliable inform that some officials (names withheld) of Unibank Ghana allegedly took part of the GHc45,000.