It is 'unthinkable' government is doing the same thing it criticised about sole-sourcing - Randy Abbey

The host of Good Morning Ghana on Metro TV, Dr Randy Abbey, has criticised the government for awarding 87% of cocoa road contracts through single-sourcing, contrary to the promise of Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.

According to him, the government has failed to live up to its standards of transparency and accountability, especially after questioning the previous administration's handling of the same projects.

This comes after the MP for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, accused Dr. Bawumia of being disingenuous to Ghanaians with his promise to end unmerited single-sourcing of government contracts.

The MP, in a post on X, on Friday, February 16, 2024, stated that Dr. Bawumia recently promised when he was outlining his vision as president to Ghanaians, that he would publish details of every contract his government enters into, but the latest audit report shows that 87% of cocoa road contracts in the current government were single-sourced.

Reacting to this on his show, Dr. Randy Abbey said: “With what the new government raised with these cocoa roads during Dr. Opuni’s era as CEO of COCOBOD, and the things that were said and reports that were put out, the special audit and all that.

“One of the key questions they posed was why he [Opuni] gave a contract above what he could afford. Now, to come to think of the same institution and the same government doing the same thing, this here is unthinkable.”

He added that the government should explain to the public why it resorted to single-sourcing, and whether it followed the due process and obtained the necessary approvals.

A leading member of the NPP, Nana Akomea, who was also on the panel, defended the government and said that Okudzeto was trying to politicise the issue by dragging Dr. Bawumia's name into it.

“It would have been helpful if Okudzeto Ablakwa had not spent so much energy trying to bring Bawumia into this thing. Bawumia’s brother, Ibrahim Bawumia has been doing a lot of work and so, I don't know why you are bringing in Bawumia’s name into your argument.

“If procurement laws are being breached, let's deal with it. Let the proper investigation be done and then we clearly show where the breaches are... If you try to bring in his linkage, then you invite other linkages," he added.

Nana Akomea also stated that the sole sourcing in the Procurement Act of Ghana is something that is breached by both the NDC and the NPP.

To him, it is time to close that window.

What Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said about Bawumia’s brother and the sole-sourced road contracts worth over GH¢83m

"By transmittal letter AG.01/109/Vol.2/189 dated 12th June 2023 which conveyed the findings of a performance audit on the construction of cocoa roads, the Auditor-General, Mr. Johnson Akuamoah Asiedu shockingly reveals how a frightening 87% of cocoa road contracts since 2020 were awarded through a non-competitive process, and how there was no value for money with some of the contracts awarded at three-times the actual cost," the MP wrote in a post shared on X

“Diligent parliamentary oversight has led to further exceedingly interesting findings: A company known as Resources Access Limited which has familial ties with Vice President Bawumia benefited greatly from the 87% non-competitive overpriced cocoa road contracts exposed by the Auditor-General.

“PPA documents reveal that in one day — specifically on July 2, 2020, Resources Access Limited owned by Abraham Bawumia (the Veep’s brother) and Aneta Kaminska Bawumia were handed two lucrative single-sourced cocoa road contracts valued at a fantastic GH¢83.7million,” Ablakwa wrote.

He added, “The details of the two contracts are as follows: 1. Contract for upgrading of Effutu - Abrem Agona and Effutu - Sorodofo Feeder Road (21.39km - Central Region) awarded at GH¢54,262,878.84. 2. Contract for upgrading of Kyiboso Hasowodze Bungalow, Feeder Road (14.50km - Central Region) awarded at GH¢29,468,546.54.”

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