The Member of Parliament representing North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has brought to light a significant increase in the cost of the new Bank of Ghana Headquarters. The initial projected cost of $80 million has now surged to an astonishing $250 million.
Ablakwa shared these revelations in an extensive Facebook post, where he also made the allegation that the construction company chosen for the project through a single-source Public Procurement Authority (PPA) process is not even a registered entity within the country.
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This startling disclosure has heightened suspicions of irregularities and possible improprieties throughout the entire process of selection and approval.
The MP for North Tongu further highlighted that a different company received PPA approval for project management services three months before it was officially registered.
Ablakwa also refuted claims suggesting that the decision to build a new headquarters for the Central Bank was initiated during the previous National Democratic Congress administration.
“From the intercepted documents, procurement for the project did not commence under the NDC or during the tenure of Hon. Ato Forson as Board Member, neither did it start during the presidency of H.E. John Mahama, contrary to the vicious fabrications by some desperate NPP apologists.
“The BoG’s unacceptable use of the Restricted Tendering Method amounts to a blatant violation of the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663) as amended in Act 914. Section 38 of Act 663 provides a limited scope for the use of Restricted Tendering in circumstances where goods, services or works are available only from a limited number of suppliers or contractors;
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“From the intercepted documents, the BoG handpicked the following companies: i) Messrs. WBHO Ghana Limited, ii) Messrs. Man Enterprise, iii) Messrs. DeSimone Limited, iv) Messrs. Ronesans Holdings and v) Messrs. Goldkey Properties;
“It is not clear what criteria the BoG used in selecting its preferred 5 companies when Ghana’s built environment can boast of many established and celebrated construction firms such as Consar, Berock, Maripoma, Mawums, M. Barbisotti, First Sky, Antartic, Ussuya, Regimanuel, and so on and so forth.”Click here to read the full post by Okudzeto Ablakwa
