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When business leaders from across the country lined up in 2023 and 2024 to receive awards from the Chief Executives Network, Ghana, the immediate-past Director General of the National Lottery Authority (NLA) was among those honoured.
On the surface, it seemed like the celebration of hard work, but the reason for honouring him may perhaps have had little to do with business acumen.
In 2023 and 2024, the Chief Executives Network, Ghana, organisers of the awards received multiple sponsorships from the NLA, totalling GHC350,000 for their events—business cocktails, CEOs summit, CEO Awards, and presidential gala dinner.
These funds were from the coffers of NLA Good Causes Foundation and were meant to provide “care and protection for the physically or mentally afflicted, the needy, the aged, orphans, and destitute children.”
However, these funds were pumped into questionable enterprises, including awards, galas, festivals, dinner events, and conferences, among others.
On the two occasions the NLA sponsored the CEO awards, Mr Awuku walked away with an honour. In 2023, he was adjudged the Overall Best Public Sector CEO. In that year, the NLA’s Good Causes Foundation blew GHC150,000 on the CEOs Summit.
The following year, the NLA spent GHC200,000 on the same event. Again, Mr Awuku retained his crown – Overall Best Public Sector CEO.
Again, in 2024, he received a ‘special recognition’ honour at the Ghana Gaming Lottery Awards, an event bankrolled with GHC100,000 from the NLA to Syndicated Entertainment Solution Limited, the organisers.
The story of his deputy, Anna Horma Miezah, is no different. In 2023 and 2024, the NLA doled out nearly GHC50,000 to the Governance and Business Boardroom, the organizers of the National Governance and Business Leadership Awards.
In 2023, Ms. Miezah received the Top Transformational Deputy MD Leadership Award, an event the NLA sponsored with GHC20,000. The following year, the authority spent GHC26,940, and Ms Miezah was the recipient of the Exemplary Woman in Corporate Governance Award.
NLA documents also showed that any time the director general and his deputy won an award, there was a special publicity plan that included live presenter mentions on television and radio, as well as adverts on digital platforms and in newspaper publications.
When The Fourth Estate contacted Mr Awuku on the matter, he insisted that he won the awards on merit.
“For example, my first award, which I received in 2022/2023, the NLA supported it, but I was not an awardee,” he said. “I received an award in 2023 and 2024, but in 2022, the NLA supported. It was subsequently that I was awarded. Many of the organizations at the Ghana CEO summit support the organization of the CEO summit. It is not only the NLA.”
Contrary to Mr. Awuku’s claims, The Fourth Estate did not find evidence of the NLA sponsoring the CEO awards in 2022.
