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The Board Chairman of the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB), Mr. Kojo Pryce Thompson, the man cited by workers of the bank as the main architect of the strange policy of selling key assets and hiring them for the bank�s operations, has been shown the exit. Though no official reason has been given, The Chronicle can report that President John Evans Atta Mills has directed the dismissal of the Board Chairman to appease workers of the bank, who have raised the red flag over the activities of the board, under the leadership of Mr. Thompson. He has been replaced by Dr. Obu Andah, a one-time Member of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Ghana, according to information available to this paper. The Chronicle has learnt from the head office of the bank that the replacement of the chairman of the Board of Directors alone would not solve the problem. �There are other board members who have to go with him,� a Ghana Commercial Bank official told this paper on condition of anonymity. Mr. Thompson�s exit comes days after The Chronicle made public a grand scheme by the management of the country�s premier bank to sell some of its key assets, and hire them back for their operations, ostensibly to present the bank as making huge profits. Eight of such properties in prime areas earmarked for sale include the GCB Towers at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra, the Tema Main Branch Office building, the GCB Training School on a sprawling estate at Nungua, in Accra, and the Bolgatanga Branch Main office building. Others include the Koforidua office building, the bank�s Club House in Kumasi, and the Akosombo office building. The Union and Professional and Management Staff have accused the board and management of running down the bank. The Professional and Management Staff and the employees unions of UNICOF, which have vehemently protested the intended sale, have described the move as a sign of the management�s lack of vision, and a knee jerk reaction to salvaging the bank. The Union, the Professional and Managerial Staff of the bank, in a recent joint statement, had expressed their disappointment at the board and management of the bank for what they termed as management�s lack of vision and policies at turning the fortunes of the bank. �We had expected this board to provide vision, and to mobilise the financial and human resources towards the profitability of GCB,� they noted. Indications are that the bank is deeply distressed, and is in a desperate move to sustain its operations. News making the rounds indicate that the management is in the process of executing a secretly hatched plan to undertake a massive lay off exercise at the bank. In its Friday, August 12, issue, The Chronicle reported uneasiness raging among workers of the bank, who have had wind of the impending mass retrenchment exercise, which is said also intended to pave the way for the recruitment of new workers through the back door. A tense atmosphere is said to have enveloped the High Street head office of the bank, where staff have been reporting to work in red bands, as most people are not sure of their fate, with regards to the retrenchment exercise. Other workers, speaking on condition of anonymity, told this paper that the management-worker relationship was currently strained, though there was no declaration of open hostility. In its official documentation, drawing the attention of Dr. Kwabena Duffour, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, to a series of activities undermining the operations of the largest commercial bank in Ghana, the Professional and Management Staff and the local Union said, instead of taking advantage of the payment of Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) debt to boost the operations of the bank, the Board of Directors and management had rather resolved to send home as many as 900 workers. �The worry is that if this same bank survived at the time it was reeling under the TOR debt, then one wonders where this management �philosophy� is coming from,� the Union, Professional and Management Staff wondered in the joint communiqu� dated July 5, 2011, and dispatched to the Finance Minister. �It is our view that management should harness internal expertise on how to manage the funds to increase revenue, rather than cutting corners to make profit,� the workers stressed. The workers accused the management and the board of ungratefulness towards the government, which had come to the aid of the bank by paying the TOR debt. �Instead of being grateful to the current government for redeeming the bank, management wants to paint a picture of a failed economy, characterised with unemployment. This is hypocrisy of the highest order, and all attempts should be made to resist it,� the workers advised the Finance Minister. �Management�s cry of falling interest rate is a complete non-starter, because the bank also takes deposits at a much lower interest rate, which is the simple core banking philosophy of any intermediation institution. �It is, therefore, a clear indication that the management has not got anything to offer staff who are the key drivers of the bank�s operational success,� the communiqu� added.