Freddie Blay defends GNPC allowance hikes, Calls increases “reasonable”

The Board Chairman of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) Freddie Blay has clarified that allowance increases for GNPC management were reasonable and approved by the corporation.

The former NPP National Chairman refuted the notion that the increases were exorbitant, emphasizing that they were implemented two years ago, not in 2024 as suggested by North Tongu MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.

Ablakwa had taken to the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, to assert that GNPC management had hiked their allowances by up to 150 percent, citing intercepted memos indicating a rise in daily hotel rates from $400 to $1000, depending on the destination.

However, Mr Blay has countered these allegations, stating that any adjustments in allowances were reasonable and had been collectively agreed upon by GNPC.

He stressed that the increases were not extravagant and were made in consideration of prevailing circumstances.

“GNPC agreed across the board to increase allowances and it wasn’t fantastic. It was not outrageous. It was reasonable and it was in 2022. So if somebody was complaining of it and made it look like this is 2024, he was only taking advantage of such reasonable increases and capital out of it.”

Mr Blay’s response comes amid public scrutiny surrounding the adjustments, particularly given Ghana’s current economic difficulties.