Ghanaian businessman, Nana Kwame Bediako, popularly known as Cheddar, has revealed that he paid GH₵30,000 to secure the Black Star Square for The Convention event.
A letter from the Office of the President, announcing the revocation of the permit to the New Africa Foundation, also indicated moves to refund GH₵10,000.
The January 7 communiqué justified the revocation saying “the decision was necessitated by unforeseen State Event scheduled to take place at that venue.”
The Convention, organized by the New Africa Foundation, aimed to bring together thought leaders in Africa, including Professor PLO Lumumba, Peter Obi, Julius Malema, and others, to address key challenges confronting Africa’s development.
In an interview on Accra-based TV3, the businessman pointed out discrepancies between the quoted figures, as the GH₵10,000 mentioned by the Presidency was not the full fee.
“First of all, the receipt that we got is GH₵30,000 but if the government is showing GH₵10,000, it’s minus two-thirds. Is this how the whole country behaves in everything that we do, in our taxes? We have paid the money and you have issued us a receipt of 30,000 Cedis,” he said on Thursday, January 11, 2024.
According to him, the amount was paid under the New Africa Foundation, which is a non-profit organization he founded.
However, the permit issued by the office of the President for the event stated that the money was paid under the name of the Black Star Line.
Nana Kwame Bediako added that the event was not going to be for a week but rather “they were aware from the 2nd to the 8th. Of course, they knew the event was on the 7th but the 8th is when you tear down.”