How the Bawumias are Milking Ghana with Overpriced Single-Sourced Contracts After Launching Vicious Attacks on Mahama
When Vice President Bawumia read paragraph 156 at page 63 of his ridiculous driver’s mate address a few days ago, I wondered why the self-proclaimed digitalization champion was not implementing that simple promise but was waiting to do that at an unguaranteed future date.
The paragraph 156 promise in issue states: “Furthermore, I will cause to be published online details of all public contracts for public scrutiny.”
Latest discoveries confirm that the current regime of secrecy by not publishing details of all public contracts directly benefits family members and cronies of Vice President Bawumia.
These contracts which are cooked for family members and close allies, blatantly violate our procurement laws and amount to a total rip off in classic “create, loot and share” schemes.
The Auditor-General has recently issued a damning report to Parliament after reviewing a number of these sweetheart deals.
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 Auditor-General depressingly discovers that under the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration, COCOBOD non-competitively awarded 266 contracts valued at a staggering GHS13billion which was 9.9 times more than the GHS1.3billion it budgeted for.
The striking irony is that on 23rd August, 2016, the NPP Presidential Candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo put out a tweet declaring that: “the era of sole sourcing will come to an end.”
Akufo-Addo’s mate, Dr. Bawumia followed on September 8, 2016, stating emphatically: “overpricing of contracts through the use of sole sourcing is very typical of this John Mahama NDC government.”
Now, Vice President Bawumia’s own words have come to hurt him.
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 GHS83.7million.
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 GHS54,262,878.84
2. Contract for upgrading of Kyiboso Hasowodze Bungalow, Feeder Road (14.50km – Central Region) awarded at GHS29,468,546.54
Who could ever have predicted that after Vice President Bawumia launched his scathing and vicious attacks on President John Mahama, the Bawumia family would one day be caught neck-deep directly benefiting from multiple over-priced, single-sourced, “create, loot and share schemes?”
Parliament is definitely going to soon have an explosive session deliberating on this damning Auditor-General’s report.
For God and Country.
Ghana First.
