Government has denied media reports that it has signed a contract with Ghanaian company Smartty’s Production for the execution of a national electrification project.
The minority in Parliament had prior to this denial alleged that Smarttys, which is a local representatives for the Chinese Contractors, may have been responsible for overpricing the deal by about $9 million, considering their past record.
Smarttys is named as the local representatives of the Chinese company, China Hunan Construction Engineering Group which would be undertaking the project.
[contextly_sidebar id=”yD7sMsp36iEU6O1mfDPpT1sGjGXLxDjX”]For their involvement in the overpriced bus branding saga, many have questioned the appropriateness of government sitting aloof and allowing them to be associated with such a huge contract worth $92m.
But speaking to Citi News, Deputy Power Minister, John Jinapor, noted that government is not dealing with Smarrtys as a contractor in this project but only as a local representative of the Chinese Company.
“The government of Ghana has no contract with Smayttys. Unlike the earlier deal about the branding, the government of Ghana has no contract with Smarttys. The government of Ghana has a contract with Hunan construction and Hunan construction is at liberty to engage any other local counterpart, whether for PR purposes or any other purpose.”
He argued that the most important thing is that government has to ensure that there was value for money and also “ensure that the contract fits within our overall objective as a nation and also ensure that the taxpayer’s money is not shortchanged.”
Why the apprehension
Smarttys bus re-branding saga – Late last year, an official investigation into a major bus branding scandal found that Ghanaian firm Smarttys overbilled the state by more than Ghc1.5 million in a Ghc3.6 million contract to re-brand 116 Metro Mass Transit buses.
Under intense public pressure, the Presidency ordered the company to cough up the excess funds it unjustly took from the state.
Officials say although some initial refund has been made, Smarttys still owes the state more than one million cedis.
Smarttys is owned by Ghanaian actress and TV Host, Selassie Ibrahim.
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By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana