Miss Earth 2013, Amabel Esinam Klutse has decided to institute legal action against First Royal, organiser of the pageant, for refusing to give her the prize package a year after she won the contest, NEWS-ONE has gathered.
Amabel has also described as “untrue” an explanation from First Royal that she had an agreement with them to use her unpaid prize money to buy a ticket for her to represent Ghana at the international event of the pageant. According to her, she never had any such agreement with them.
Last week Amabel made a public complaint that she was yet to receive the prize package promised her after winning the pageant.
However, Evelyn Akoto, an official at First Royal told NEWS-ONE that they had contracts with contestants from the beginning of the pageant that prizes would be given based on sponsorship deals.
But Amabel issued a statement on Thursday describing the explanation from First Royale as a lie.
The statement read:
“That is not true! We never had any such agreement. Their letters which they were to give me to raise sponsorship came later than planned. So I wasn’t able to raise the sponsorship. What Miss Evelyn Akoto told me after I told her I wasn’t able to raise the sponsorship was that the ministries and some other sponsors were taking care of my tickets. The only thing was that I had exams in school around the time they had to go for the money from these sponsors for my tickets. So I didn’t go with them for that sponsorship. If she and I agreed that she used my cash prize, I only request she shows documents to prove that contract.”
Amabel, in her statement, refuted Evelyn Akoto’s claim that First Royal provided her wardrobe at the international event.
“It is another lie. I bought all the clothing, shoes and accessories I took to that event with my own money with the exception of environmental costume and national costume which they rented for not more than GH¢500. I know the amount because I was there when the cost of renting the costume was said to the organisers.”
About the car prize squabble, Amabel said, “The night I was crowned, I was handed a key to a brand new car that was parked outside as a prize for the winner. I was also given a cheque of GH¢5000 cash as part of the winner’s prize. Both the key to the car and the cheque were taken from me that night. The key was taken from me with the excuse of the organizers having to register it before handing it over to me. The GH¢5000 cheque was also taken by the organisers for “safe keeping” till the pressure of the night was down.
“I was also entitled to GH¢5000 worth sponsored goods per the contract I signed with them. It’s been almost a year now and I haven’t got any of these prizes I am entitled to after emerging winner of the contest which I consider an act of fraud by the miss earth organisers.
“Whenever I asked of my prizes they told me to give them just a little time to get some things sorted so I get my prizes. Week after week they got a new excuse for not giving me the prizes, assuring me I would get it sooner. They eventually came up to give me a used car which according to the organisers themselves was originally supposed to be a project car for all four winners to use. However, since the new car they brought to the finale wasn’t ready they asked me to use the project car for a while whilst I waited for the new car.
“Thank goodness I made them draft another contract for the agreement to use the project car only for a while before I got the new car. Apparently the used project car they gave me had some mechanical faults which started surfacing again during the period I had to use it.
As part of the new contract I made them draft for the project car, they were responsible for maintenance. Despite their responsibility for maintenance, I used my money for maintenance several times before I finally gave it to them for massive maintenance.
“All this while, Miss Evelyn Akoto asked me use my money to fix the car to be reimbursed later, which she never did. So I took the car to them for maintenance after about two months of use. Then they said the problem with the car was quite serious, so they’d rather get me a new one instead of using a lot of money to repair the old one. Till now, I haven’t got any car from them.”
