Underfire Board Chairman of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GHAPOHA) , Peter Mac Manu has refuted claims by some workers of the company that he has been using his family businesses to procure contracts from the company.

According to Mr. Mac Manu, his wife’s Travel Agency business has been operating for the past 35 years, discounting accusations of conflict of Interest by workers of the entity.

Addressing a press conference on Thursday, 24 May 2018, the chairman of the Senior Staff Association of GPHA, John Aseeph, alleged that the wife of the former New Patriotic Party (NPP) chairman has taken over ticketing for staff travels, adding the Authority “is being priced at cut-throat prices.”

“We are paying two and three times more than other competitors are offering for ticketing,” he alleged.

The Union further accused Mr Mac Manu of awarding a $4 million contract to wire the newly constructed electrical and materials block of GHAPOHA to his own company.

“He has for himself seven companies in the Port – five Stevedore companies and two cleaning companies. If the board needs to take decision on Stevedore companies in the port of which the board chair alone holds five, how can he hold fairness at such a time,” Mr. Aseeph stressed.

Reacting to the allegations, Mr Mac Manu told Radio-Ghana in an interview Thursday; “My wife and the travel Agency business has been in existence for the past 35 years continuously, uninterrupted and has been accredited by the International Air Transport Association( IATA) all these years. So it’s not a question of say, NPP has come to power and Mac-Manu has formed a company to procure tickets,”

Mr. Mac Manu described the various accusations as “bogus” and full of lies.

“In any case before tickets are issued, a pro-forma is given to the customer, who’ll give you the go-ahead to issue or not to issue because of price or others. So its not true that my wife has been issuing overloaded, overpriced tickets to GPHA,” he said.