Alliance for Social Equity and Public accountability (ASEPA) has petitioned the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyabeng to investigate into the contract between the Frontiers Health Services (FHS) and Ghana Airport Company (GACL) for the testing of Covid-19 at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).
ASEPA in its petition letter indicated that, with regards to the contract, there have been little information pertaining to the selection of Frontiers Health Service.
“So far, there have been very limited information about how the Ghana Airport Company selected Frontiers Health Services for this particular contract. We have cause to believe that the Public Procurement Law was not properly adhered to in a transparent manner as required by law.”
ASEPA
Last year, The Ghana Airport Company Limited indulged in a contract with Frontiers Health Services to provide coronavirus testing at the Kotoka International Airport at cost of $150 per test, according to ASEPA.
In an interview with the executive director of ASEPA, Mensah Thompson, he mentioned that during the committee’s vetting in parliament, none of the sector ministers relevant to this agreement was able to provide specific information about how the contract came about. He added that, aside limited information about the deal, there have also been issues about the pricing of the test.
The Civil Society Organization specified that about $17 million has been pooled from passenger testing at KIA, as reported by the Minister of Health (MOH). ASEPA further indicated out of that amount, Ghana only earned $1 million in terms of revenue.
During the interview with the executive director of the ASEPA institution, he questioned whether parliament has sighted the contract between the Frontiers Health Services (FHS) and the Ghana Airport Company (GACL)
Mensah Thompson further stated that, “clearly, the entire arrangement has been shrouded in secrecy, there’s so much opaqueness in the contract, absolute lack of transparency.”
The director of the civil institution placed much emphasis on the need to find the parties who signed the agreement.
He was of the view that the special prosecutor should delve into the matter and ascertain the persons that signed the agreement and also find out the methods employed in selecting the Frontiers Health Service.
Similarly, the ASEPA letter specified that, “we are therefore invoking the jurisdiction of your high office, the Office of the Special Prosecutor to initiate investigations into the Frontiers Health Services with the Ghana Airport Company limited in respect of the covid-19 testing at the airport”.
The Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability through their letter spelt out multiple requests to the office of the Special Prosecutor. Aside its ultimate petition to find out the parties involved in signing the contract and the factors that lead to the selection of the FHS by the Ghana Airport Company, ASEPA filed requests to investigate the total amount of money generated through the Covid-19 testing, to investigate all allegations of money laundering against FHS and also to investigate allegations of procurement breaches against the Managing Director of Ghana Airport company as well as the Minister for Aviation with regard to the Frontiers Health Service Contract.
ASEPA also asked for corruption risk assessment on the transaction and further requested the commencement of criminal prosecutions against all individuals found guilty in what they described as rip-off transaction.
The Executive Director of ASEPA mentioned that they have received a ‘Letter of Receipt’ from the Special Prosecutor after its ‘Letter of Petition’ was submitted.
The Civil Society Organization notified the prosecutor that, “a 48-hour ultimatum given to the Honorable Attorney General to initiate criminal investigations into the procurement vaccines would elapse by close of day today. Kindly expect a second petition from us in respect of the procurement of Sputnik vaccines by close of week”.
