An aspiring Volta Regional Secretary of the NDC, and a former Member of Parliament, George Loh, has suggested that Dr. Mensa Otabil, Board Chairman of the defunct Capital Bank, may not have understood his role at the Bank.
Mr. Loh’s position follows the clergyman’s response to the collapse of the bank and his alleged complicity.
Dr. Otabil, who is also the Founder and General Overseer of the International Central Gospel Church, has come under intense public criticism, following an investigative report that indicated that he may have been party to the misuse of liquidity support given by the Bank of Ghana to Capital Bank.
[contextly_sidebar id=”8oCNfHnpqOTw6RqfMEH7ZtrkrbvQcD2e”]He has however broken his long silence on the matter, subtly denying his involvement in the woes that have befallen the financial institution.
Speaking on Citi TV’s Breakfast Daily show however, George Loh said the separation of Pastor Mensah Otabil as a religious personality from the business he was part of, would be appropriate.
He believes Dr. Mensa Otabil only shirked his responsibility as he did not even understand his role as Board Chair of Capital Bank.
“This thing that you say, you better not say them. Executive Director, non executive director , ultimate director, substantive director, substitute director, they all have the same responsibilities over the companies they preside over. It does not lie in any director’s mouth whether executive or non executive to say that these things were not by heart. No, that is why we say corporate.”
“To make it worse, he was Chairman of the Board. If these things we are reading came from Rev Mensa Otabil, he did simply did not understand the role. They should go back to the drawing board. It is a no, no. He cannot under any circumstances exclude himself from this. If you follow this Capital Bank thing, he was not only a director, he was a shareholder so this it is not my role thing is not true. Let us deal with the issues as they appear and stop winding things.”
Capital Bank collapsed a year ago together with UT bank because according to the Bank of Ghana, the two banks were “deeply insolvent.” They were acquired by GCB bank.
A leaked investigative report had however shown that officials of Capital bank squandered some GHc610 million liquidity support given it by the central bank.
The report also noted that instead of using the money to resuscitate Capital bank, the management, with the approval of the Board Chair, diverted the money for other uses, leading to the eventual collapse of the financial institution in August 2017.
I’m wasn’t responsible for daily operations at Capital Bank – Otabil
Board Chair of the now-defunct Capital Bank has subsequently issued a statement, denying direct involvement in the woes of the now-defunct bank .
In his first public reaction to the development which has been a controversial subject in the media space, Mensa Otabil said his role as the chairman of the bank’s board was a non-executive one hence he was not involved in the daily management and operations of the bank.
He said everything was done with the best intentions and interest of the of shareholders.
My position was a non-executive role. I was therefore not involved in the day-to-day management and operations of the Bank. In the course of time, some decisions made turned out well while some did not turn out as well as had been anticipated. As far as I can tell, everything was done with the best of intentions and the interest of various stakeholders in mind,” his statement said.
Capital Bank collapse: I’m cooperating with EOCO’s investigation – Otabil
Dr. Mensah Otabil however says he is cooperating with the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) in the investigation of the collapse of the bank.
“Since the takeover of the bank exactly a year ago today, various mandated state institutions have been investigating and working to arrive at a comprehensive understanding of what happened, why it happened and who was responsible for what. I have been invited by EOCO and I have submitted myself to their processes and answered all their questions faithfully,” he said in a statement.
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By: Marian Ansah/citinewsroom.com/Ghana
