'Launch investigation into irregularities in US$48m Ascend Scandal' - Ablakwa petitions World Bank

Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament for North Tongu has disclosed having petitioned the World Bank over a project being rolled out by the Ministry of Communications and Digitalization.

Ablakwa, last week, alleged through documents from the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) that the sector minister, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, had handed out a contract of US$48 million without PPA approval.

The minister denied the claims and challenged the MP to produce the said contract she had signed.

He produced further particulars which the minister dismissed as a case of shifting goalposts on the issue.

On July 12, 2023; the lawmaker published a formal petition he had submitted to the World Bank a day prior, seeking a probe into the "irregularities, misrepresentation, insider dealing & conflict of interest," around the US$48million Ascend Scandal.

He captioned his tweet thus: "Yesterday I petitioned @WorldBank to launch investigations into the litany of irregularities, misrepresentation, insider dealing & conflict of interest relating to the US$48million Ascend Scandal & how that was used to fraudulently secure a US$49.5m WB funded eTransform project."

The eight-page petition was addressed to Ms Maria C. Mallo, a senior investigator of the World Bank in Washington. Ablakwa stated that his petition was premised on the bank’s Anti-Corruption Guidelines.

Yesterday I petitioned @WorldBank to launch investigations into the litany of irregularities, misrepresentation, insider dealing & conflict of interest relating to the US$48million Ascend Scandal & how that was used to fraudulently secure a US$49.5m WB funded eTransform project. pic.twitter.com/7kvxeIPKNz

— Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa (@S_OkudzetoAblak) July 12, 2023