The National Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi, Esq., has made an allegation of corruption and over-pricing in several sole-sourced contracts awarded to relatives of Vice President Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
The National Communications Officer of the opposition party, in a press conference, delivered a scathing critique of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration, highlighting what he termed as “overpriced sole-sourced contracts awarded to the Bawumias.”
Addressing the media, Lawyer Gyamfi painted a grim picture of Ghana’s current economic and social landscape, describing unprecedented levels of hardship under President Akufo-Addo and Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia’s administration.
“There is no gainsaying that Ghanaians are experiencing unprecedented levels of hardships today. Indeed, Ghanaians are reeling under excruciating hardships occasioned by economic bankruptcy, an ever-depreciating cedi, ever-soaring food prices, an alarmingly-high cost of living, crippling taxes, an unprecedentedly high unemployment rate, and the highest youth unemployment rate in the history of the Fourth Republic. All of these factors have conspired to make life unbearable for the citizenry”.
Sammy Gyamfi Esq. National Communications Office, NDC
These factors, he argued, have pushed many Ghanaians into poverty, prompting a mass exodus of the country’s youth.
Rampant Corruption
Amidst these hardships, Lawyer Gyamfi accused the current administration of allowing corruption to flourish unchecked.
He cited the Catholic Bishops Conference, which described the situation as “massive uncontrolled corruption.”
“The meager resources of the country that ought to have been invested in productive ventures for the benefit of the nation have been hijacked by a few greedy officials of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/NPP government and their cronies thereby imposing untold hardships and pain on the masses”.
Sammy Gyamfi Esq. National Communications Office, NDC
Sole-Sourcing: A Tool for Corruption
Highlighting the details of the alleged overpriced sole-sourced contracts, the National Democratic Congress National Communications Officer accused the New Patriotic Party administration led by President Akufo-Addo and Vice President Dr Bawumia of routinely bypassing competitive procurement processes in favor of sole-sourcing, resulting in overpriced contracts that drain the nation’s coffers.
This practice, Lawyer Gymafi asserted, stands in stark contrast to the promises made by both President Akufo-Addo and Vice President Bawumia during their campaign against the erstwhile John Mahama’s administration in 2016.
“Alhaji Bawumia on his part accused President Mahama and the NDC of overpricing contracts using sole sourcing. Alhaji Bawumia had this to say on his Twitter handle on 8th September 2016, ‘overpricing of contracts through the use of sole sourcing is very typical of this John Mahama NDC government’.
“Upon coming into government in 2017, this same Alhaji Bawumia was reported by the online news portal Ghanaweb to have said that his government ‘will abort rampant sole sourcing”.
Sammy Gyamfi Esq. National Communications Office, NDC
The Bawumia Family’s Involvement
However, Lawyer Sammy Gyamfi accused Dr Bawumia of becoming a major beneficiary of such practices, citing several contracts awarded to Resource Access Limited, a company he alleged is owned by Dr Bawumia’s brother, Abraham Bawumia, and his wife, Kaminska Bawumia.
He outlined several contracts awarded to this company without competitive bidding, including Phase One of the Sunyani Airport Rehabilitation.
Here Lawyer Gyamfi claimed that the contract given to Resources Access Limited was awarded at GHS52.25 million, adding that the juicy contract was doled out to Dr Bawumia’s brother in the year 2019 without any transparent or competitive process.
Lawyer Gyamfi contrasted this with the cost of the new Ho Airport built under the erstwhile Mahama’s administration for $25 million, implying significant overpricing.
“The brand-new Ho Airport was built at a cost of $25 million. This airport boasts of a brand new 1,900 meters long and 30 meters wide Runway, a New Ultramodern Terminal with VIP and VVIP facilities that can process about 400 passengers a day, a Brand-New Apron for two aircrafts, and a 9-kilometer network of new roads around the airport.
“On the other hand, after spending a colossal GHS52.25 million (that is, about half of the cost of the brand new Ho airport), the rehabilitated Sunyani airport can only boast of a Refurbished 120 meters long and 30 meters wide Runway, Minimal renovation of the existing Terminal Building to process 100 passengers per hour/day, Upgrade (patching of pot holes) of existing apron and Resurfacing of internal roads”.
Sammy Gyamfi Esq. National Communications Office, NDC
Additionally, the National Communications Officer of the NDC alleged that two contracts, cumulatively valued at GHS83 million, were awarded for upgrading roads in Assin Akropong and Kyibosohasowodze to the Resources Access Limited, a company belonging to the brother of the Vice President.
The said cocoa roads projects according to Sammy Gyamfi include the upgrading of the Assin Akropong – Odomasi – Asibrem(22.18km) road at a contract value of GHS54,263,718.64 and the upgrading of Kyibosohasowodze bungalow feeder road (14.50km) at a contract value of GHS29,468,546.54.
He strongly posited that per the Auditor-General’s report, these single-sourced cocoa road contracts were overpriced and awarded in breach of the Public Procurement Law, thus, causing the country huge financial losses.
“Indeed, paragraph 65 of a Performance Audit Report by the Auditor-General on the Construction of Cocoa Roads revealed that ‘COCOBOD did not rigorously analyze its procurement options for value for money but sought approval from PPA for single sourcing and restricted tendering, thus procuring contracts which were up to three times more expensive than they could have obtained through competitive tendering’”.
Sammy Gyamfi Esq. National Communications Office, NDC
Similarly, Lawyer Sammy Gyamfi disclosed that some selected road projects in Teshie and Accra were awarded between March 2023 and March 2024 to the same company on contracts totaling GHS83,036,639.
“These contracts are; Rehabilitation of Selected Roads in Teshie Camp, Southern Command, Military Academy Training School Roads (23.45km & 55,000 M2); Partial Reconstruction of Selected Roads in Accra – LOT 1 (44.49KM); Construction of Sunyani By-Pass Outer Ring from Kumasi Berekum Road”.
Sammy Gyamfi Esq. National Communications Office, NDC
He emphasized findings from a performance audit by the Auditor-General, which revealed that these contracts were overpriced and awarded in breach of the Public Procurement Law, causing significant financial losses to the country.
A Call for Accountability
Sammy Gyamfi Esq., in scathing critique, accused Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia of hypocrisy, pointing out his past criticisms of sole-sourcing under the erstwhile Mahama’s administration and contrasting them with his current involvement in similar practices.
He argued that Dr Bawumia has become the biggest promoter and beneficiary of the very practices he once condemned.
“Friends from the media, the total contract value of just the five (5) sole-sourced contracts awarded to Bawumia’s brother’s company alone amount to a colossal GHS218 million (equivalent to 2.1 trillion old Ghana Cedis). Can you imagine the huge savings the State would have made, if these projects had at least been awarded through a competitive process?”
Sammy Gyamfi Esq. National Communications Office, NDC
Lawyer Sammy Gyamfi concluded by urging Ghanaians to recognize Dr Bawumia’s role in the ongoing corruption and state capture under the NPP government.
He framed the upcoming elections as a choice between continued corruption and a new direction under the NDC, positioning a vote for Dr Bawumia as a vote to shield wrongdoers from accountability.
The NDC’s National Communications Officer called for a collective effort to rescue Ghana from what he described as the deplorable leadership of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration.
He stressed the importance of transparency, competitive procurement, and holding public officials accountable to restore hope and prosperity to the country.
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