Minority petitions investigative bodies over alleged irregular Gold Board contract

The Minority in Parliament has formally petitioned the Special Prosecutor, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), and the Criminal Investigations Department to probe an alleged contract awarded for the renovation of the old Bank of Ghana office.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Minority Caucus, said the contract allegedly awarded by the Ghana Gold Board to Mr Stan Dogbe, a Deputy Chief of Staff, was fraught with irregularities and breaches of established procurement processes.

Addressing journalists on Tuesday, Mr Anthony Mmieh, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Odotobri, insisted that the matter must be thoroughly investigated to ensure accountability.

“We presented petitions to these three agencies, to conduct an immediate investigation into the contract that has been awarded to Stan Dogbe by the Gold Board. We are of the view that there were several irregularities as the laws governing the awarding of contracts were not followed,” he said.

“It is even likely that this contract would cause financial loss to the government. Therefore, our petition simply says that this entire contract should be investigated for us to know what went on. And if there were any irregularities, the law should take its course. We expect the law to take its course.

Mr Mmieh indicated that if the procurement was not properly done, it would not be acceptable by law, adding that “You cannot permit sole sourcing and if that has been done, then the entire contract must be abrogated.”

“So at the end of the day, if it is established that the company that won the contract did not have the required documentation, and that due process was not followed, then we expect that the contract would be terminated and the proper thing done,” he added.

Mr Mmieh noted that all three investigative agencies had acknowledged receipt of the petition, and the Caucus had copies of the acknowledgement.

He said by this, they expect that the three agencies to do their work as required by law and revert to them with the outcome of their investigations as fast as possible.