Minister smears Akufo-Addo with sticky UNIPASS deal

Deputy Minister of Finance, Kweku Kwarteng, has dragged the name and person of Nana Akufo-Addo into the controversial Ghana Link/UNIPASS deal which is feared could disrupt revenue generation and trade facilitation at the ports, saying it was the President himself who travelled to Korea and approved the deal for Ghana.

This shocking claim from Kwarteng that Nana Akufo-Addo was behind the Ghana Link/UNIPASS deal has attracted a lot of disaffection and condemnation for the President, especially when the deal itself has been enveloped in several controversies, uncertainties and the company itself has consistently failed to deliver.

It also came as a surprise that the President would not have done some due diligence before personally approving of a contract that has sparked civil society groups, think tanks, relevant stakeholder institutions and the general public all expressing shock and dismay.

Not only was the 10-year sole sourced contract for Ghana Link/UNIPASS itself originally signed on the blind side of Nana Addo’s Cabinet and Ghana’s Parliament but the company was so unprepared to an extent that the Economic Management Team (EMT), at a point had to step in and direct it to go and do the right thing and then get back to Cabinet.

Kweku Kwarteng, speaking to Kwame Sefa Kayi, host of the Peace FM morning show, ‘Kokrokoo’ last week, was however emphatic that the President had travelled to Korea to see and give approval to the Ghana Link/UNIPASS deal.

Nana Addo unware

The New Publisher’s checks shows that President Akufo-Addo was not part of the Ghana Link/UNIPASS deal.

Indeed, the President, at a point, had cause to initiate a private probe by some of his most dependable confidants into the entire sticky saga and the report given him was not a favorable one.

It is, therefore, most strange the claim by Kweku Kwarteng.

But in any case, Kwarteng has not hidden his personal support for Ghana Link/UNIPASS. He has hopped from Peace FM to Metro TV defending the contract and insisting it was the very best thing that happened to trade facilitation in Ghana.

When asked however in which part of the country or anywhere in Africa the UNIPASS system has been tested, he simply could not tell.

Kwarteng was also emphatic that the Ghana Link/UNIPASS deal would be implemented at all cost and was quick to rubbish concerns that the haste could land government in a judgement debt situation.

UNIPASS wants GCNet, West Blue Systems

Though the promoters of Ghana Link/ UNIPASS claim the company has a superior system to what is currently being used by GCNet and West Blue, the contract the company signed with government says the company would not start operations until the systems of GCNet and West Blue has been taken from them and handed over to Ghana Link/UNIPASS.

GCNet won't hand over system

UNI-PASS and Ghana Link is under pressure to prove that it has to take over the Ghana National Single Window at all cost because it has a supposed superior system that has not been tested and tried anywhere, not even demonstrated to the very officials that signed the contract with the company on behalf of government.

To add salt to injury GCNet has refused to comply with instructions from above that it should hand over its systems to UNIPASS to use to work.

Reports suggest that management of GCNet does not see the sense in why it should stop operations and hand over its systems to UNIPASS.

The company is reported to have said it would rather shut down than be forced to hand over its systems to UNIPASS.

West Blue on the other hand, has gone to court over what the company calls a plagiarism of a portion of its system.

Meanwhile, civil society and stakeholder groups continue to remind government on the dangers of the UNIPASS agenda and its negative consequences on revenue generation at the ports and trade facilitation in general.