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| Eva Lokko Robs Cantata group |
1/19/2006 |
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Eva Lokko Robs Cantata group
…Refuses to pay appearance and sponsorship package
BEARING any last minute compromise, the Cantata group, a popular Akan drama theatre show group would be dragging Madam Eva Lokko and Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) to court over non-payment of the group’s share of the appearance and sponsorship package.
THE SUN has gathered that Madam Eva Lokko, since her appointment as the Director General of the GBC blocked and refused to pay the group’s appearance fees and the sponsorship package due to the group. The paper learnt that at least about 15 months now the group has been stanced without payment which now stands at ¢146 million.
Speaking to The Sun, a dejected spokeswoman of the group Abena Akyaa, aka Julie Juu, narrated the ordeal the group had gone through in the hands of Lokko’s administration.
She said already “the behaviour of Lokko in refusing to abide the rules to pay the group had led to a rift between some of the leading members of the group and the producer of the show, Nana Bosomprah. As a result some members of the group have accused Nana Bosomprah of collecting the money and refusing to pay us. This therefore led to a breakaway from the group by a number of the group members” Said Abena Akyaa. When Eva Lokko was reached last Thursday on her cell phone she told the Sun that she was not aware of the grievance of the group.
“I am not aware that the group have work for about 15 months without pay. The problem may be between them and the producer of the programme,” she told The Sun. However, the spokesperson for Cantata debunked the claim by the embattled GBC boss that she was not aware of the non-payment of the group.
“We have tried all avenues at our disposal to get Lokko to release our share of the appearance and sponsorship packages but to no avail. I don’t think Lokko would ever say she has no knowledge about our plea. She must be joking to say that she was not aware about our problem. Julie Juu told The Sun. According to Julie Juu, due to the pressure the group had mounted on GBC, the station had decided to take off the Cantata from the air in the last three weeks. The paper gathered that the GBC pays ¢425,000 after tax as appearance fees to the group in every show and in the last 15 months no appearance fees have been paid to the group.
As if that was not enough the group share of ¢2 million per show from Ernest Chemist and Kasa Prako Alomo Bitters, sponsorship was also outstanding for 15 months.
The Sun gathered that Ernest Chemist, sponsorsed the group for nine months and paid ¢12 million per show as sponsorship out of which ¢2 million as to be given to the group. The paper learnt that after Ernest Chemist came Kasapreko sponsorship which lasted for six months. This therefore brought the outstanding months to 15 with an accumulated amount of ¢146 million. “Did the group showed you its agreement with GBC to claim that there was a contract between the parties,” Lokko asked this reporter.
GBC is a big institute you can not just get up and say we owed you they need to show us the contract documents if they should go to court.” She said. Lokko who told the Sun that she was speaking unofficial however pleaded with the reporter not to be sensational about issues. “You must be like the kind of journalist we need people who would be writing about the development issues but not sensational issues.
Until the emergence of Eva Lokko at GBC club Bear was official sponsors of the Cantata show with ¢6 million per episode. Two million out of the ¢6 million went to the Cantata group as their share of the sponsorship package.
Vigo Money transfer took over the sponsorship after the exist of Club Bear and paid ¢4 million per show. Again GBC fulfilled its obligation and paid ¢2 million out of the package to the group. However the paper learnt when Eva Lokko emerged she decided to curtail the payment with diverse excuses of the group share of the sponsorship package and the appearance fees. The paper gathered that some directors have tried but in vain to get Lokko release the share of the group until she proceeded on leave.
Source:
THE SUN
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