ASEPA ignorant; I don’t receive double salary – NSA boss

The Director-General of the National Sports Authority (NSA) Professor Peter Twumasi has denied allegations that he is drawing a double salary from the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD).

Civil society group Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA) which made the allegations claim Prof Twumasi, while still at post at the NSA and on the payroll of the authority, also gets a salary from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

ASEPA also alleged that the NSA boss has abandoned an official residence which was assigned to him at Kuku Hills in Osu and, instead, stays in a 5-star hotel at the cost of the NSA.

The group also said Professor Twumasi should be held responsible for a missing vehicle belonging to the Sports Authority.

Professor Twumasi has, however, denied all the allegation.

He told Class 91.3FM that he is on “secondment sabbatical” and working for the same employer even though he is playing different roles for two institutions.

“It is a common practice and I was surprised about the ignorance of such a group,” he said.

He said the procedure is established by the government and the primary institutions release the official for his additional roles after the completion of the processes “but you do not have double salary”.

He said he has been working for the NSA since December 2018 “and I have not been given even a single month’s salary”.

In his estimation double salary payment “is not even possible” for government workers due to stringent measures at the Controller and Accountant General’s Department.

Explaining the details of his accommodation, Prof Twumasi said the official residence provided by NSA “is under renovation” and “I don’t live in a 5-star hotel” but a private residence.

On the allegations of the missing vehicle, he said the car was used for an assignment concerning a football match in Kumasi.

He explained that a driver named Michael Andoh was in charge of the vehicle but “unfortunately he was lodging in a particular hotel and I was told that the vehicle got stolen and he has even reported the case to the police station in Kumasi and it was relayed to the national head office”.

He concluded that the matter is currently under investigation and efforts are being made to locate and retrieve the vehicle.