No businessman sells to government at a lower interest rate – Namoale fires Manasseh

Former Member of Parliament for La Dadekotopon, Nii Amassah Namoale, has given some reasons for their numerous press conferences after their defeat to the NPP in the 2016 elections.

Namoale in an interview with Kasapa FM on 'Anopa Kasapa' programme noted “our numerous press conferences are to inform and educate citizens on government’s dealings. The 79 press conferences so far should have by now been more than this number since there are a lot of issues we must make known to the public”.

“Members of the NPP are pressuring us to organize a press conference on Jospong’s issue, yet indeed Manasseh Azure’s recent report on him is the shoddiest work he has ever done. His report claims he bought the dustbin at a cost of GH¢ 150 each but sold it out to the government at GH¢ 350 each. This to him is a cheat on the side of government and needs to refund the abnormal profit made,” he said.

According to him an individual cannot sell to government at lower interest rates because every government across the world takes longer years to pay its creditors, the reason behind the high interest rates.

He said for every government contract, one has to factor in his/her profit, warehousing, transportation fees and as well as the duration payment is going to be made.

He added that this policy is being practiced by all business tycoons who deal with government except on instances where the government of the day gives you an assurance to pay at a given short time as that will demand a small interest rate.

Manasseh Azure after nine months of investigations discovered that the Local Government Ministry last year awarded a $74 million contract to five subsidiaries of the Jospong Group to supply one million waste bins and 90,000 bin liners.

He found that the waste bins were not needed as a similar contract awarded by the ministry in 2014 had yet to be fully performed – 55,000 waste bins were yet to be taken from the suppliers.

About 100,000 waste bins under that contract distributed to metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies were lying waste.

In spite of this, the Ministry awarded another contract to the five Jospong subsidiaries under single sourcing to supply the waste bins.

According to sources, the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service has written to Mr Joseph Siaw Agyepong, CEO of Jospong Group following investigative series detailing questionable contracts involving subsidiaries of the Jospong Group.