“There was no procurement nor bidding process for the award of contract” in the controversial Christmas tree and decorations by the Ghana Airports Company Limited”, according to the Transport ministry.
The Ministry also said the 2021 Christmas decorations in question were rented and not bought as was previously claimed by the GACL Board chairman, Paul Adom-Otchere.
The Ministry of Transport’s revelations is contained in a response to a right to information (RTI) request filed to GACL by Redeemer Buatsi in January 2022 and sighted by The Fourth Estate of the Media Foundation for West Africa.
Background
The news of the procurement emerged with leaked proforma invoices from two companies from which the services were procured. The two invoices were addressed to the GACL, with one of them naming the board chairman, Paul Adom-Otchere.
A proforma invoice from Jandel Limited for “Terminal 3 Arrival Hall (a decorated Christmas tree with lights), lighting décor on the trees around the lawn, and decoration of existing trees” amounted to a total of GHS 38,775.
Another proforma invoice from Favors and Arts for the rental of a Christmas chandelier with lights amounted to GHS 90,500.
Social media commentators questioned the corporate governance structures at the GACL that allowed the board chairman of the state-owned company to be directly involved in the procurement of Christmas decorations.
But on January 7, 2022, Paul Adom-Otchere sidestepped the corporate affairs department of the company and started to clarify the widely circulating information that suggested imprudent use of public funds by the company.
The RTI request in January and the response in June
In January, Redeemer Buatsi requested copies of the procurement contract and how much the GACL spent on Christmas trees over the years among other pieces of information.
The GACL refused to respond to the request. Mr. Buatsi followed with an internal appeal to the managing director of the company, regarding the RTI law.
In a response dated April 4, 2022, about three months after the initial request, the GACL, in a letter signed by its managing director, Mrs. Pamela Djamson-Tettey, referred the journalist to the Ministry of Transport.
Source: mybrytnewsroom.com/Kwabena Nyarko Abronoma
