GhanaWeb, a prominent online news portal, is currently embroiled in a management takeover dispute, resulting in disarray and uncertainty within the organization.
The unfolding situation began when the website experienced downtime, prompting conflicting statements from individuals claiming authority over the platform. David Antwi declared himself as the new CEO, a move contested by the founder of GhanaWeb, Robert Bellaart. Bellaart dismissed Antwi's claim, asserting that Antwi is in charge of “empty boxes,” adding a layer of uncertainty to the ongoing situation.
As a journalist contributing stories to GhanaWeb's platform through the Reporter Blogger section, I observed the website's malfunction and sought clarification by reaching out to the company's staff via a dedicated WhatsApp group. The staff acknowledged the challenges and assured me that their technical team was actively addressing the issue.
Shortly after, Robert Bellaart posted an update confirming technical difficulties with the main domain, ghanaweb.com. He announced the activation of a full-function backup site at ghanaweb.live, urging bloggers to migrate their content and inform their followers about the temporary transition. However, further investigation revealed that Bellaart had lost control of the ghanaweb.com domain, leading to layoffs and a lack of updates on the ghanaweb.live platform.
“Technical update. The domain ghanaweb.com is out of service because of technical issues. We have activated a full-function backup site at ghanaweb.live. All your blogs are on the new site, ghanaweb.live. It will soon be possible to start posting there again. Meanwhile, use all your social media handles to inform your friends and followers about this backup site. For now, GhanaWeb.live is the place to go,” Bellaart stated in his post.
However, the situation took a twist when David Antwi issued a conflicting directive, urging bloggers to disregard Bellaart's message. Antwi labelled the newly introduced ghanaweb.live as “rogue” and clarified that it was neither authorized nor affiliated with ghanaweb.com.
“Guys, this is David, the new CEO. GhanaWeb.live is not authorised and is not affiliated with GhanaWeb.com. Please do not promote or inform others about this rogue website. I'll address this in more detail this week. Thanks,” Antwi asserted in his post.
The conflicting statements have left both staff and readers in suspense, eagerly awaiting a resolution to the ownership tussle that has disrupted the operations of the once-reliable online news portal.
