GPHA boss is too experienced to undertake dubious contracts - Aide

The public has been urged to discard news making the round that the Director-General of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), Richard Anaamo, has undertaken dubious contracts estimated to have led to the country losing over GHC 5 billion.

The Daily Statesman newspaper reported that over the last four years, the Director-General of GPHA has "impudently and arrogantly" awarded contracts through sole-sourcing to his cronies.

This, the newspaper claims was achieved through connivance with the Chief Executive Officer of Public Procurement Authority.

But Mr. Eric Arthur, a special aide to Mr. Richard Anaamo tells Okay FM that the Director General of GPHA has worked with the institution for more than 35 years and knows how dangerous it is to engage in activities that would bring the name of GPHA into disrepute.

“If the daily Statesman is reporting that activities under him (Anaamo) have led to debt, then it is a liar. The institution (GPHA) is a big one and anything done there is being monitored by all political activists. Aside this, there are both internal and external auditors ensuring that everything done is legit”, he said.

He continued that “all GPHA contracts are advertised in the papers” and dared the New Statesman to boldly state one contract that Mr. Richard Anaamo gave out through sole-sourcing.

About 400 workers, according to the paper have been employed to work at the new Maritime Hospital since Nana Akufo-Addo won the general elections of December 7, with their appointed letters also backdated.

But this claim was also refuted by Mr. Anaamo. Under the watch of Mr. Richard Anaamo, Eric Arthur believes the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority has seen a positive development stressing that the Maritime Hospital has been established to help the nation.

He further stressed that it was also a lie that Mr. Richard Anaamo has used his authority to employ 400 people to work in the newly built hospital.

“All the lies are being peddled by certain disgruntled people and we know all those behind the news” he noted.

He ended by advising the public to desist from the act of disgracing “people who have worked harder by publishing their photos on frontpages and calling them thieves”.