Agams Holdings, the parent company that operates technology firm, Rlg Communications, has rejected claims that it has been blacklisted by government and cannot benefit from projects under the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA), now the Youth Employment Agency (YEA).
The company in a statement said, “At the time of filing this response, neither our Holding company or any of its subsidiaries had been informed officially of any blacklisting and for the avoidance of doubt, none of our companies have been blacklisted anywhere in the world including Ghana”.
The Minister of Employment, Haruna Iddrisu in December 2015, announced that government will not award contracts to any company that was indicted in the corruption scandal that hit the then Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA).
Although the Minister did not mention the names of any company, the assumption was that it included included Zoomlion and Rlg, which were some of the major firms contracted under the programme.
[contextly_sidebar id=”0enANhH8EmKuwxmraGNRQ7L1KAKupmS7″]Haruna Iddrisu said government has decided to blacklist all the companies in a move to serve as a deterrent to others and to curb corruption in the country.
But the statement from the Agams Holdings said they have not received any information in that regard.
The company further cautioned pressure groups like Occupy Ghana, which had been a major critic, to desist from tarnishing its image.
“We therefore caution against any attempt by any person or group of people to malign our name, brand and reputation,” the statement added.
We’ve settled a debt of GHc2m to gov’t
On the GYEEDA corruption scandal, the company stated that it has refunded a sum of GHc 2,050,590.42 to government as at the end of December 2014.
“An amount of GHC 2,050,590.42 paid on 31st December, 2014 finalized the installment payments of the total amounts owed the state, including accumulated interests,” a statement from the company said.
Rlg and other firms were indicted in the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA) scandal for withdrawing monies from the state for the training of some Ghanaians in IT programmes, but bloated the amount due them.
Government in 2012 ordered for an investigation into activities of the Agency and subsequently terminated the contracts with the various companies. The name was changed to the Youth Employment Agency (YEA).
The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Marietta Brew Appiah Oppong, told the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament recently, that Rlg and another company of the Agams Holdings Group, Asontaba Cottage Industry Limited, had settled their indebtedness to the state.
She said the two companies had paid the amount with interest.
The statement from the Agams Holdings further said “Rlg Communications Ltd has settled its indebtedness to the Youth Employment Agency, formerly Ghana Youth Employment & Entrepreneurial Agency (GYEEDA) and therefore does NOT owe government or for that matter, the YEA.”
Below are excerpts of the statements:
- Rlg Communications Ltd has settled its indebtedness to the Youth Employment Agency, formerly Ghana Youth Employment & Entrepreneurial Agency (GYEEDA) and therefore does NOT owe government or for that matter, the YEA.
- An amount of GHC 2,050,590.42 paid on 31st December, 2014 finalized the instalment payments of the total amounts owed the state, including accumulated interests.
- A 6th July, 2015 letter signed by Ghana’s Attorney-General’s Department “confirms that this amount is in full and the final payment of Rlg Communications indebtedness to GYEEDA”.
- Two subsidiaries of Agams Holdings; Craftpro Ltd and Asongtaba Cottage Ltd have also complied with the government’s directive on the refund of monies to the YEA as contained in Attorney-General & Minister for Justice’s briefing to Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee on Tuesday, 15 March, 2016.
- At the time of filing this response, neither our Holding company or any of its subsidiaries had been informed officially of any blacklisting and for the avoidance of doubt, none of our companies have been blacklisted anywhere in the world including Ghana.
- We therefore caution against any attempt by any person or group of people to malign our name, brand and reputation.
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By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana