<<Print>>

A group calling itself, Concerned Workers of State Insurance Corporation (SIC) is calling for Chairman Max Cobina to either resign or be sacked immediately by the relevant authority as his continuous stay at post poses a great danger to the survival of the institution, which the current Acting Managing Director is trying to revamp. The irate workers who came to the offices of Economic Tribune in Accra last Friday described Mr Cobina as problematic, accusing him of mismanagement and trying to usurp the role of management. �His total misconduct and unnecessary interference into the day-to-day affairs of SIC are all affecting insurance company negatively,� the group lamented. The call by the State Insurance workers for their chairman to be sent packing came at a time when alleged fraudulent schemes and reckless mismanagement of funds had been uncovered at SIC with the regulator of the insurance industry, National Insurance Commission, threatening to revoke its licence. Clearly stepping beyond his boundary as a board chairman, Max Cobina is on record to have engaged in some alleged stinking dealings that landed SIC into trouble. Numerous fraudulent deals alluded to include alleged $426,000 paid out to Janet Annan for her bogus KPI consultancy services, which amount did not include her taxes, lodging, internal travels, use of official vehicle, among other benefits. Another consultant was allegedly paid a whopping $74,000 for a four-page report on the Bob Freeman Clinic. �All these are happening under the watch of the Board Chairman and the sooner he is sacked the better for us,� the group stated, adding that, the nation�s insurance company is facing an imminent collapse under the leadership of Mr. Cobina. The group continued: �Board members are grabbing company vehicles anyhow. The Board Chairman picked a salvaged Toyota Land Cruiser V8, which was neatly repaired together with the company�s Nissan Urvan Mini Bus, all for free.� �Can you believe that this year alone, the Board of Directors has sat 16 times and you can imagine the sitting allowance per sitting,� the group disclosed. National Insurance Commission in a letter to the Acting Managing Director of SIC dated December 10, 2012, has expressed regret about SIC�s investments, claims and premium debtors. The Commission observed that the investments made by the company were poorly monitored and overvalued, whilst claims payment procedures were extremely slow, thereby resulting in a tall list of outstanding claims, which had been grossly understated on the company�s Balance Sheet. NIC further observed that the premium debtors of SIC as at last year were too high compared to its gross premium income. Again, most of the company�s debtors shown on its Balance Sheet as assets are non-existent, bad or doubtful, NIC stated, adding that, �the company�s Balance Sheet therefore does not seem to show the true financial position of the company.� It added: �The onsite inspection and follow-up visit revealed that the above mentioned problems are the symptoms of fundamental weaknesses in the company�s internal controls, particularly internal audit, financial controls, credit management and executive oversight.� When our reporter met Mr Cobina recently to hear his side of the story when the news regarding the financial misappropriation came out, Mr Cobina insulted him and even threatened to shoot him when he failed to disclose the source of his information.