Mona Quartey dismisses reports BoG will bear cost of Sibton deal

Former deputy Finance Minister, Mona Quartey has dismissed reports that the central bank is paying Sibton Switch Systems Limited to implement a retail payment system infrastructure in Ghana.

The contract, which is seen by many industry watchers as unnecessary and shady, will see Sibton Switch Systems Limited – a company formed in August 2015 – run a system to make banks, mobile money platforms and other payment systems interoperable.

According to reports, the cost submitted by Sibton to the Bank of Ghana (BoG) for the implementation of the retail payment system was in excess of four billion Ghana cedis.

What raises eyebrows is the fact that two other entities that bid for the same contract – Vas Intel Limited and Mericom Solutions Limited – submitted tender amounts and packages worth much lower than that of Sibton.

But Mona Quartey assured that the central bank will not bear any cost in the said transaction.

“The central bank is not paying any amount to the company, so people should not think the bank is using the taxpayers’ money to fund or finance this project”, she made it clear.

She, however, insisted that the central bank is not obliged to seek public consultation on its decisions

“The central bank is not mandated to consult the public on its decision. They can do what they want to do knowing that it is in their interest and consult, but it’s not mandatory”, she stated.