An investigation into a consulting agreement between the Northern Development Authority and the A&Qs Consortium has been launched by the Special Prosecutor’s office.
The Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Program’s consulting contract is the subject of the investigation.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor has ordered the Controller and Accountant General’s office to halt payments.
Additionally, the current Chief Executive, pertinent prior officers, and owners of A&Qs have been invited for interrogation and released on bail along with the Coordinator for Special Initiatives Programs Napagatia Sulemana.
All those implicated, according to the Office of the Special Prosecutor, will be charged and arraigned.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor made the post on its’ official Facebook page
Background
The Northern Development Authority (NDA) has been the target of a contract amendment scandal in which a Gh5.7Million contract signed by the company’s most recent CEO was magically increased after the job was completed and payment was due.
During his tenure as CEO of NDA, Dr. Alhassan Anamzoya awarded a contract to the company A&QS Consortium for a sum of $5,720,000 that was authorized by the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) as part of the government’s Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Program, according to a series of exposés by Dr. Anamzoya (IPEP).
On January 16, 2020, the PPA gave Dr. Anamzoya’s NDA the go-ahead to employ single-source procurement to hire a variety of consultants to undertake the IPEP program for a cost of Gh5.7 million.
However, when Dr. Anamzoya left NDA, the contract ‘falsified’ itself and Dr. Anamzoya’s faked signature, raising the total contract amount to Gh10,400,000 rather than the Gh5.7Million originally agreed upon.
Only a small portion needed to be cleared before payment was made, despite the obvious deception and potential criminal consequences.
For 11 constituencies in the Upper West Region, the NDA under Dr. Anamzoya hired the A&Qs Firm to provide Consultancy Supervision at a cost of 5,720,000 with PPA permission. Despite the fact that the award letter signed by Anamzoya and the associated PPA approval indicated an amount of $5,720,000, it is claimed that the contract was altered to reflect GHC $10,400,000 before being submitted for payment, of which 30% was made.
The current NDA CEO, Sumaila Abdul Rahman, who has not publicly responded to the claims, is accused of committing the claimed violations in order to inflate the numbers and maybe steal from the government.
Despite several requests to the Chief of Staff and the Special Prosecutor on this matter, it was announced on June 30 that the Controller and Accountant General’s Department was prepared to make the remaining amount.
The previous NDA CEO petitioned Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, the Chief of Staff, regarding the suspected fraud, but she did nothing, giving the appearance that the government was complicit in the sale.
Martin Kpebu claimed that he is persuaded that the President is the leader of the Criminal Syndicate at the Jubilee House and is actively involved in crimes against the state for this reason. Martin Kpebu spearheaded the appeal to the Special Prosecutor looking into the case.