NDC CORRUPTION: 2017

Sunday, October 8, 2017

AG releases bus branding documents to Occupy Ghana

The branded buses

Pressure group, Occupy Ghana has said it has received the investigative report covering the controversial GHc3.5 million bus rebranding deal executed by Smartty’s Management and Production Limited.

The group, after several efforts to retrieve the report failed, dragged the Attorney General to court to have their demands met.

A statement from Occupy Ghana said the 22-page document was “sworn to by one Lawrence Kumi, Director of Research at the Ministry of Transport.”

Occupy Ghana further noted that the Attorney General had refused to release the report it furnished the office of the Chief of Staff saying “she considered that as confidential and privileged.”

“While we waited for our action to be heard, we received word from the Honourable Attorney-General that she would make the documents available to us. True to her word, by an Affidavit dated 26th April 2016, filed on 28th April 2016 and sworn to by one Lawrence Kumi, Director of Research at the Ministry of Transport, the Honourable Attorney-General has delivered to us, documents relating to the Transaction, except one,” the statement added.

The group also said they will pursue the matter to its logical conclusion if they find out the AG erred or did anything illegal after studying the documents.

“We have delivered these documents to our legal and audit teams for their review and advice. We will keep Ghanaians appraised and updated with the findings of our legal and audit teams, and as we have promised, should we find that any laws were broken or anything was done that was illegal, wrong or untoward, Occupy Ghana will pursue the matter to its logical and legal conclusions,” the statement added.

Prior to Occupy Ghana’s court action, another pressure group, Citizen Ghana Movement had sued the AG to demand full disclosure on the matter.

Following the suit, an Accra High Court on April 13, 2016 ordered government to make the documents available to the group.

Background

Government’s decision to spend GHc3.6 million of Ghana’s oil revenue on branding some 116 Metro Mass Transit (MMT) buses has been widely criticized and described as reckless. The scandal compelled the Transport Minister, Dzifa Attivor to resign after a massive public outcry.

The Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, subsequently ordered the Attorney General to investigate the matter after which Smarttys was ordered to refund the excess payments made.

Meanwhile a leaked Attorney General’s investigation report suggests that the contract with Smarttys was commenced and concluded long before the procurement process started; a conduct that violated the nation’s procurement laws.

Smarttys after the report was asked to refund GHc1.5 million to the state.

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By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana

We’II pursue AG for more on bus branding scandal – Occupy Ghana

Pressure Group Occupy Ghana, has said it will continue to put pressure on the Attorney General (AG ) until she releases all reports on the controversial Smartty’s bus branding scandal.

The AG submitted the investigative report on the scandal to the group on Monday following a court order.
Occupy Ghana further noted that the Attorney General had refused to release the report it furnished the office of the Chief of Staff saying “she considered that as confidential and privileged.”

The group also said they will pursue the matter to its logical conclusion if they find out the AG erred or did anything illegal after studying the documents.

Prior to Occupy Ghana’s court action, another pressure group, Citizen Ghana Movement had sued the AG to demand full disclosure on the matter.

Following the suit, an Accra High Court on April 13, 2016 ordered government to make the documents available to the group.

Background

The Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, subsequently ordered the Attorney General to investigate the matter after which Smarttys was ordered to refund the excess payments made.

Smarttys after the report was asked to refund GHc1.5 million to the state.

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By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Gov’t must come clean on bus branding scandal – AFAG

The buses are embossed with pictures of Ghana's incumbent President and Ex Presidents both alive and dead.

Pro-opposition pressure group Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG), has charged government to set the records straight on the murky GHC 3.6 million bus re-branding scandal.

Although the group in a statement commended government’s “swift action” to retrieve part of the money, it observed that the “step is incomplete until the full complement of the law has been applied.”

“Be that as it may, AFAG would like to know whether the excess payment has been repaid? When it was made? Was there value for money audit before payment? Did the procurement board grant smarty’s sole sourcing rights? Is there a criminal intent in the transaction?” the statement added.

Government’s decision to spend the whopping amount of Ghana’s oil revenue on re-branding some 116 Metro Mass Transit (MMT) buses has been intensely criticized by many Ghanaians.

The scandal, which has compelled the Transport Minister, Dzifa Attivor to resign, comes at a time when the country is battling with some economic challenges.

Although a report on investigations into the scandal commissioned by the Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, has been presented, details of it have not been made public yet.

Below is the full statement from AFAG

Though the resignation of the minister for transport is welcomed, it is not enough for God & country. We commend however, the swift action taken by government to retrieve the stolen money. This step notwithstanding, it’s incomplete until the full complement of the law has been applied.

Be that as it may, AFAG would like to know whether the excess payment has been repaid? When it was made? Was there value for money audit before payment? Did the procurement board grant smarty’s sole sourcing rights? Is there a criminal intent in the transaction?

Fellow Ghanaians, under the current precarious economic circumstances, such an unconscionable act must be made to face the full wrath of the law. The records should be set straight on this transaction, and any greedy bastard (who have sent this country begging on its knees) trading off our common goal for their parochial interest punished.

Our simple questions need not escape your attention Mr. President.

We wish Ghanaians a prosperous New Year.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Ghc3.6m bus branding cash refunded – PIAC

The Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC), has disclosed that proceeds from Ghana’ s petroleum revenue which were used to re-brand 116 Metro Mass Transport Buses in 2015, have been refunded in full to the public coffers.

According to the Chairman of PIAC, Professor Paul Kingsley Buah-Bassuah, an amount of GHC3.65 million, approximately 9 percent of transport sector allocation from the petroleum revenue, which was used for the re-branding of the buses has been refunded.

“What was used for the re-branding of the metro rapid transport buses have been refunded in full. The petroleum component has been refunded that is, the GHC3.65 million has been paid to the country according to our report,” he said.

The Ghc3.6 million bus re-branding contract for 116 buses awarded to Smarttys, caused a public outcry resulting in the resignation of the then Sector Minister of Transport, Ms Dzifa Attivor in December.

Issues regarding procurement challenges, a bloated contract sum paid to Smarttys among others, were raised by civil society groups and political parties leading to a further probe by the Attorney General’s Department, hence the subsequent refund.

Background

Government’s decision to spend GHc3.6 million of Ghana’s oil revenue on branding some 116 Metro Mass Transit (MMT) buses in 2015, was widely criticized and described as reckless.

The scandal compelled the Transport Minister, Dzifa Attivor to resign after a massive public outcry.

The Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, subsequently ordered the Attorney General to investigate the matter after which Smarttys was ordered to refund the excess payments made.

Smarttys was subsequently asked to repay nearly half of the amount, which government said was an over-payment.

A leaked Attorney General’s investigation report suggested that the contract with Smarttys was commenced and concluded long before the procurement process started; a conduct that violated the nation’s procurement laws.

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By: Frederick Awuni/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Mahama accepts Dzifa Attivor’s resignation as Transport Minister

President Mahama is convinced he will win a second term come November 7.

President John Dramani has accepted the resignation of Dzifa Attivor as Transport Minister.

A two-paragraph statement from the Flagstaff House Wednesday evening said, “President John Mahama has accepted the resignation of Mrs. Dzifa Aku Attivor as Minister for Transport.”

“Her resignation follows concerns raised over a contract to spray and brand 116 new buses procured by government to improve transportation in the country’s major cities” the statement ended.

Madam Dzifa Attivor announced her resignation today [Wednesday] over a bus branding saga.

Government’s decision to spend a whopping GHC 3.6 million on re-branding 116 buses has angered many Ghanaians, with the majority questioning how that outrageous expenditure could be approved under the watch of the President.

The buses are embossed with pictures of Ghana’s incumbent President and Ex Presidents both alive and dead.

Her resignation comes barely a day after a report was presented to the Chief of Staff; Mr. Julius Debrah, following an investigation he demanded into the controversial contract.

Details of the investigative report have not been made public yet. It is thus unclear why the Minister has decided to resign even before the report is made public.

There are suggestions Madam Attivor may have been forced to resign since information available to Citifmonline.com indicates that the Minister was not marked out for punishment although there were suggestions she was negligent.

Citifmonline.com is also informed that some persons may be prosecuted for the wasteful spending as recommended in the report.

A statement signed by the Minister’s Personal Assistant, Egypt Kobla Kudoto, to confirm her resignation said “Hon. Mrs. Dzifa Attivor, Minister of Transport wishes to inform the good people of Ghana that, as the Minister with oversight responsibility for the activities of the Metro Mass Transit (MMT) she has tendered in her resignation due to the current issues surrounding the branding of the 116 buses.”

Dzifa Attivor

“She further wants to take the opportunity to thank her party for the opportunity offered her to serve, first as a Deputy Minister of Transport under the late John Evans Atta Mills, and later as the Substantive Minister.

Mrs. Attivor also wishes to thank the President sincerely for the honour to serve in his government.

The Minister’s action also comes a day after some seven Ghanaian citizens instituted a court actionagainst government over the controversial contract. A detailed pro-forma invoice for the re-branding of the buses has revealed that stickers on each bus cost Ghc11, 000.

The pro-forma invoice dated 17th July 2015, and signed by the Accounts Officer of Smarttys Management and Productions and copied to the Ministry of Transport; put the total cost of branding for each bus at Ghc30, 420.00.

Smarttys Management and Productions is owned by Selassie Ibrahim, an actress cum entrepreneur and TV personality.

Some advertisers have told Citi News the charges were inflated considering the charges that pertain in the industry for such services.

Government has been harshly criticized for wasteful spending considering that the state could have raked in nearly Ghc5 million cedis a month if it had given out the spaces on the 116 buses for commercial advertisement.
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By: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana

MMT bus re-branding could have cost under GHc1 million

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An Accra-based advertiser, Casey Amese, believes government massively overpaid for the re-branding of the 116 buses per his professional opinion.

Speaking on Eyewitness News on Thursday, Mr Amese said the re-branding of the 116 buses could have cost only GHc928,000 instead of the GHc3,649,044 paid by government to the Smarttys Management and Production.

A pro-forma invoice dated 17th July 2015, signed by the Accounts Officer of Smarttys Management and Productions put the total cost of branding for each bus at Ghc30,420.

According to Mr Amese, the unit price for the rebranding of the buses could have cost Ghc8,500 per bus after factoring in the brand concept, nature of work done, color change, and size of the buses.

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He further stated the unit price for the re-branding of the buses could even drop from Ghc8,500 per bus to Ghc8,000 cedis per bus owing to the quantity of buses in question and economies of scale.

“For a bus of the nature you’re describing, I would give you 8500 per bus, and if I should look at the volume of the buses that you have, economics would tell you economics of scale so I would have to reduce the unit price for you which I can give you say, 8,000 per bus so for 116 buses we are looking at 928,000 cedis,” he said.

He however considered a situation which could have compelled a company to charge such an amount saying the duration of payment could affect the cost.

“One of the things to taken into consideration is the nature of the client you are dealing with… If you have a client that is likely to pay you 5 months, 6 months after the job is done, you will agree that you are taking a loan to do a job so you would want to make the marker in a way that if the delays for the worst case scenario you can still be able to pay for the loan you would have taken.”

Mr Amese remained adamant the buses should not have cost Ghc31,000 per bus and he is at a loss as to why Smarttys charged such a huge amount.

“In actual fact, if I am doing it, this is how much I would charge you. I don’t know what is going into what the other person is doing and for which reason the person will have to charge 31,000 cedis per unit,” he said.

He concluded by saying, “I would say that, if I was a business man who had 116 buses to brand and an invoice was presented to me for the 3.6 million as you’re saying, I wouldn’t go for that deal.”

Mr. Amese’s assertions are in line with the Citi News’ checks on the market prices for such services, which showed that the prices quoted by Smarttys, have been doubled for most of the services rendered.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Transport Minister resigns over bus branding scandal

The Minister of Transport Dzifa Attivor, has resigned over the bus re-branding saga.

Government’s decision to spend a whopping GHC 3.6 million on re-branding 116 buses, has angered many Ghanaians, with the majority questioning how that outrageous expenditure could be approved under the watch of the President.

Her resignation comes barely a day after a report was presented to the Chief of Staff; Mr. Julius Debrah, following an investigation he demanded into the controversial contract.

Details of the investigative report have not been made public yet. It is thus unclear why the Minister has chosen the path of resignation even before the report is made public.

A statement signed by the Minister’s Personal Assistant, Egypt Kobla Kudoto, to confirm her resignation said “Hon. Mrs. Dzifa Attivor, Minister of Transport wishes to inform the good people of Ghana that , as the Minister with oversight responsibility for the activities of the Metro Mass Transit (MMT) she has tendered in her resignation due to the current issues surrounding the branding of the 116 buses.”

Mrs. Attivor also wishes to thank the President sincerely for the honour to serve in his government. She has already communicated this decision to His Excellency President John Dramani Mahama through the Chief of Staff, Mr. Julius Debrah” the statement concluded.

The Minister’s action also comes a day after some seven Ghanaian citizens instituted a court action against government over the controversial contract.

A detailed pro-forma invoice for the re-branding of the buses has revealed that stickers on each bus cost Ghc11, 000.

The pro-forma invoice dated 17th July 2015, and signed by the Accounts Officer of Smarttys Management and Productions and copied to the Ministry of Transport, put the total cost of branding for each bus at Ghc30,420.00.

Smarttys Management and Productions is owned by Selassie Ibrahim, an actress cum entrepreneur and TV personality. Some advertisers have told Citi News the charges were inflated considering the charges that pertains in the industry for such services.

They have accused government of misplaced priority considering that the state could have raked in nearly Ghc5 million cedis a month if it had given out the spaces on the 116 buses for commercial advertisement.
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By: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Bus rebranding saga: Smartty’s ordered to return GHC 1.9 m

The Chief of Staff, Mr. Julius Debrah has asked the Attorney General and Minister of Justice to recover from Messrs Smartty’s Management Limited, a total of GHC 1.9 million.

He gave the directive after receiving the Attorney General’s report on the spraying and branding of 116 new buses procured for the Metro Mass Transport Company Limited.

The Chief of Staff last week directed the Attorney General to conduct an urgent review of the contract, following concerns raised about the cost of spraying and branding exercise.

In her report submitted on Tuesday, Mrs Marieta Brew Appiah-Oppong found that there were no cost comparisons to what was submitted by Smartty’s Management because of the method of procurement and the procedures used.

The report revealed that the procurement method did not also ensure value for money.

A statement from the Flagstaff House noted that “Independent consultations made by the Attorney General with some leading motor firms in the country confirmed that the contract would have been executed at a cheaper cost if other bids were considered and price comparisons made.”

The Transport Minister , Dzifa Attivor resigned on Wednesday over the scandal.

Her resignation came barely a day after the report was presented to Mr. Julius Debrah.

A statement signed by the Minister’s Personal Assistant, Egypt Kobla Kudoto, to confirm her resignation said “Hon. Mrs. Dzifa Attivor, Minister of Transport wishes to inform the good people of Ghana that , as the Minister with oversight responsibility for the activities of the Metro Mass Transit (MMT) she has tendered in her resignation due to the current issues surrounding the branding of the 116 buses.”

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Ghc400,000 cut in Smarttys payback cover-up – Osei Owusu

Joe Osei Owusu

The Minority spokesperson on Constitutional and Legal Affairs, Joe Osei Owusu, has described the decision by Government to review the amount of money to be returned by Smartty’s, for the controversial bus branding deal, from GHc1.9 million to GHc1.5 million, as another attempt to cover up rot.

The Attorney General, Marrietta Brew Oppong, has confirmed that the total amount to be refunded by the Smarttys Management and Productions Limited has been reviewed from the initial GH¢1.9 million to GH¢1,548,608.04.

According to a statement released by the Flagstaff House, this review is as a result of the revised Value Added Tax position, revised Withholding Tax position and a set-off of GH¢27,173.74 being over-deduction of withholding tax on the original payment.

Smarttys has reached an agreement with the Attorney General to pay the full amount by the end of March this year.

Mr. Osei Owusu likened these developments in the deal to a victim of theft sharing his or her property with the thief.

He said, “It’s like opening up your door wide and then letting thieves come in, steal what they want and when you catch them, you share.”

Mr. Osei Owusu also questioned certain aspects of the deal and bemoans the fact pertinent questions like the true value of the work done are not being asked.

“What was the true value?.” “How was it determined? Nobody is discussing that” he fumed.

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By Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Revealed: Stickers per re-branded bus cost Ghc11, 000

The buses are embossed with pictures of Ghana's incumbent President and Ex Presidents both alive and dead.

A detailed pro-forma invoice for the re-branding of the 116 Metro Mass Transit Buses, available to citifmonline.com, has revealed that stickers on each bus cost Ghc11, 000.

Smarttys Management and Productions is owned by Selassie Ibrahim, an actress cum entrepreneur and TV personality.

Meanwhile Citi News’ checks on the market prices for such services indicate that, the prices quoted by Smarttys, have been doubled in most cases, except for the amounts quoted for labour cost for spraying a bus and labour cost for stickers.

Government has been criticized for spending as much as Ghc3.6million on re-branding 116 buses, at a time when the country is facing a difficult energy crisis among other challenges.

The buses, which are in the national colours of Ghana, have been embossed with the pictures of all Ghana’s former Presidents, and the current President, John Dramani Mahama.

Minority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, has kicked against the Transport Ministry’s decision to expend such a colossal amount merely to re-brand buses.

Previously, the branding on the buses raked in money for the state as businesses used the space for advertisement.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament, the Minority Leader said, “Information that I have is that the ministry has made provision of 3,649,000 of ABFA to re-brand the 116 buses that are parked here at the premises of Parliament.”

He quoted these figures from the 2015 annual report on the Petroleum Funds and noted that the money allocated translated to thirty-one thousand Ghana Cedis per re-branded bus.

Contributing to the debate to approve the 2016 annual budget estimates of the Ministry of Transport on Tuesday, the Minority Leader said the GH 31,457.28 for each bus is too huge and cannot be tolerated.

“Thirty one thousand Ghana cedis for the re-branding of one bus; Three hundred and ten million old cedis on the re-branding of one bus? That cannot be tolerated; and the Minister of Transport must explain herself” he firmly demanded.

The Minister of Transport, Dzifa Ativor, who was in Parliament when the Minority Leader made the comment, could not immediately explain the expenditure, but promised to furnish the house with the details later.
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By: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Minority leader fumes over Ghc3.6m re-branded buses

The buses are embossed with pictures of Ghana's incumbent President and Ex Presidents both alive and dead.

Minority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, has kicked against the Transport Ministry’s decision to expend an amount of Ghc3.6 million to re-brand 116 metro mass transit buses.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament, the Minority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu said, “Information that I have is that the ministry has made provision of 3,649,000 of ABFA to re-brand the 116 buses that are parked here at the premises of Parliament.”

He quoted these figures from the 2015 annual report on the Petroleum Funds and noted that the money allocated translated to thirty-one thousand Ghana cedis cost per bus re-branded.

“Thirty one thousand Ghana cedis for the re-branding of one bus. Three hundred and ten million old cedis on the re-branding of one bus? That cannot be tolerated; and the Minister of Transport must explain herself” he firmly stated.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Gov’t blows GHC 3.6m on rebranding 116 buses

The buses are embossed with pictures of Ghana's incumbent President and Ex Presidents both alive and dead.

Government has spent about GHC 3,649,044 on rebranding 116 buses for the Metro Mass Rapid Transit (MMRT) imported to improve the transport system in the country.

The Minority Leader in Parliament, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu who made the revelation said re-branding for each of the buses cost GHC 31,457.28, leading to a total of GHC 3,649,044.75 for the 116 buses.

He quoted these figures from the 2015 annual report on the Petroleum Funds.

Contributing to the debate to approve the 2016 annual budget estimates of the Ministry of Transport on Tuesday, Mr. Mensah – Bonsu said the GH 31,457.28 for each bus is too huge and cannot be tolerated.

But the Transport Minister, Dzifa Attivor in her response to the claim by the Minority Leader said she did not have the details of the re-branding at hand and promised to make it available to the House at a later date.

Presenting the Roads and Transport Committee’s report, Chairman of the Committee, Theophilus Tetteh Chaie said the 2015 approved budget for the Ministry and its agencies were “drastically revised downwards to GH 50,047,963 by the Ministry of Finance” from GH 179, 767,991.

Mr. Chaie said the reason for the revision ” was that, the expected revenue inflow was particularly affected by the slump in the international oil price which the committee is agreeable to .”

He noted that the “committee however could not review the 2015 ceiling for the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA) item since the mid year review did not specify that amount reduction for the Ministry”

The Chairman of the Committee further indicated that there is shortage of critical staffing at agencies such as the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), and Ghana Railway Development Authority (GRDA).

According to the report, the GRDA needs more engineers because the only engineer at the Authority is its Chief Executive Officer.

The report further indicated that “the performance of domestic aviation is currently faced with a challenge which has the potential of crippling the once vibrant industry in the country.

While the foreign international airlines are exempted from taxes in the importation of spare parts.”

It added that the recent introduction of Value Added Tax on domestic fares has shot up airfare, making it expensive for many people to use air transport resulting in low patronage.

“Further, tax on jet fuels has made the price of the commodity high as compared to other countries in the sub region. Indeed, the domestic airline operators have communicated to the Committee, the difficulty in meeting their optimal operational cost in view of the enumerated taxes,” it said.

Contributing to the debate, Member of Parliament for Bekwai, Joseph Osei-Owusu said the staffing challenges at the various agencies will affect their operations, adding that country’s programmes with the International Monetary Fund has worsened the employment situation.

The House finally approved an amount of GHC 126, 317, 102 for the Transport Ministry for the 2016 financial year.

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Source: Daily Heritage