13.3 C
London
Friday, March 29, 2024

PPA Boss Replies CHRAJ –

Adjenim Boateng Adjei

The
suspended Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Public Procurement Authority
(PPA), Adjenim Boateng Adjei (AB Adjei), has denied
conflict of interest allegations levelled against him.

In his
response to a demand by the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative
Justice (CHRAJ) to respond to the allegations, he stated that there was no
evidence of any act or omission supporting an allegation of having discharged
his duties as a public officer for the benefit of a company he had an interest
in.

Through
his lawyer, Yaw Oppong, Mr. Adjei also contended that Manasseh Azuri Awuni who
is the complainant “has not demonstrated how our client’s personal interests
interfered with the performance of his duties and functions.”

He said
the allegations in the documentary against him were simply anchored on
assumptions and conjectures, and betrayed gross unfamiliarity with the laws on
public procurement in Ghana.

He is,
therefore, urging CHRAJ to dismiss the allegations as they do not refer to any
instances of conflict of interest in the performance of his duties.

Suspension

The
embattled CEO was suspended by President Akufo-Addo following a documentary
titled ‘Contracts for Sale’ which was put together by investigative journalist
Manasseh Azure. The documentary highlighted alleged procurement misconducts.

Investigative
journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni, in an exposé titled ‘Contracts for Sale’,
among other things, claimed that Talent Discovery Limited (TDL), a company
incorporated in June 2017 and that has links with the PPA boss, won a number of
government contracts through restrictive tendering.

The
journalist also reported that the company was engaged in selling contracts.

CHRAJ Letter

CHRAJ
subsequently wrote to Mr. Adjei giving him 10 days within which to respond to
the allegations as contained in the documentary.

CHRAJ
Boss Joseph Whittal had said on Citi FM
that the response from AB Adjei would determine the next line of action by the
commission.

Response

Mr.
Adjei has through his lawyer responded, denying all the allegations as
contained in the document.

According
to the response, neither did CHRAJ’s letter indicate with any clarity the
specific matters contained in the President’s letter nor the documentary by
Manasseh Azure Awuni constituting conflict of interest.

It said
the allegation contained in the documentary does not impinge on conflict of
interest as “a claim of the sale of contracts by TDL after that company had
participated in a tender not organized by the Public Procurement Authority
(PPA) and it had been declared the successful tenderer not by the PPA but by
other entities, has no bearing on a conflict of interest with the duties of our
client as a public officer.”

“Our
client is neither part of the management of TDL nor one of those alleged in the
documentary to have engaged in the sale of government contracts on behalf of
TDL,” it said.

The
response also claims Mr. Adjei is only a shareholder in TDL and not part of
either the management or board of directors of that company.

On the issue of Mr. Adjei being a member of the PPA Board and that puts him in a conflict of interest position regarding contracts involving TDL, the response claims the allegation is misleading and betrays a complete ignorance of or disregard for the actual function of the Board of the PPA in applications for restricted tendering. 

BY Gibril Abdu Razak

Latest news

Related news