Minority Members of Parliament have vehemently raised opposition to the involvement of Smarttys Management and Productions Limited, owned by Selassie Ibrahim, in another Government of Ghana contract worth $92 million, which they argue is bloated by $9 million.
The company was last year ordered by Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, to refund GHS1.5 million to the state, after a GHS3.6 million contract awarded it to rebrand some 116 Metro Mass Transit buses, was found to have been bloated. National outrage over the graft resulted in the resignation of former Transport Minister Dzifa Attivor.
But even before the firm finishes refunding the excess amount, the same company has been found fronting for a Chinese company for a contract for the supply of electrical materials for a rural electrification programme.
This has left the Minority MPs infuriated and wondering why the company is still being entertained by government despite its history of graft.
Contributing to the debate on the $92 million contract before parliament, the Minority MPs, led by Ranking Member of the Finance Committee, Dr Anthony Akoto Osei, argued against the involvement of Smarttys in the new contract, since, in their view, there was the strong possibility of contract inflation due to the company’s past record.
He told the house: “One of the parties in the negotiations is a firm called Smarttys. The importance of Smarttys is that we have public evidence of the company overcharging government in the rebranding issue, Mr Speaker, of GHS3.6 million or over pricing of GHS1.9 million that the Attorney General is on record having said that we have been overcharged.”
“Mr Speaker, the point I want to make is that it is prudent for the committee to work this out that one of the major parties in this contract is Smarttys…Members of Parliament should be honest with us…Mr Speaker, Smarttys is the local representative for the company and the person sat in the negotiations.
“[A] company that has been found to have overblown us almost $1 million in bus branding, for the house to be able to make an informed decision, it was prudent for the committee to have reminded us …it is not a secret, it is not only fair to the company, but it is also fair to the house …Mr Speaker, if the World Bank finds out that a contractor in Ghana called Mathew Opoku Prempeh has abused the procurement process in Ghana, that contractor is banned from World Bank projects all over the world for five years.”
Scrutinising the loan details further, the opposition MPs again questioned what they described as the monopoly being enjoyed by a value-for-money company known as Crown Agents over all government contracts.
Minority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said: “Mr Speaker, the issue about due diligence by Crown Agents, it’s made some savings for us as a nation. I have always insisted that this house should also be able to engage consultants when such matters come before us, so that we will be able to compare. It shouldn’t always be that the executive will bring documents to us, due diligence done on their documentation by their chosen agents, and then parliament swallows whatever comes from them from the authority that might have conducted the due diligence …Mr Speaker, it doesn’t help Ghana and it’s also being made to appear as if Crown Agents have a monopoly in the conduct of due diligence in the country.
“Mr Speaker, it shouldn’t be like that, and if the executive have opted to go under that umbrella, parliament should not do that, so, at least, we are able to compare. Otherwise, Mr Speaker, if we should take whatever comes from Crown Agents, this nation will be short-changed.”
But government was still adamant that enough due diligence had been done and despite its involvement in the bus rebranding scandal, Smartty’s still had the capacity to act as local partners for the Chinese company.
Minister for Roads and Transport, Inusah Fuseini, told the House: “By the time this contract was negotiated, the Smarttys issue was a non-issue. It had not arisen, unless of course you want us to take retrospective action, which is contrary to the constitution of Ghana…it is Crown Agents’ position that VFM assessment could not commence until a complete submission had been received.
“However, for the following reason CAGL made an exception for this contract and prepared a preliminary VFM assessment report. And at the Committee, Mr Speaker, this issue was dealt with extensively. We made it clear that the 22.7 was a preliminary figure.
“Mr Speaker, that is the final value-for-money report and that report is captured in the document. …Today, if fuel price is GHS10 per gallon and as at the time that negotiation is going on, fuel price reduces, Mr Speaker, it will affect the contract sum. That is not to say that the contractor intentionally decided to overprice. The core circumstances must be taken into consideration.”
