Pressure group OccupyGhana is demanding the immediate prosecution of persons involved in the Smarttys bus re-branding scandal.
Addressing the press in Accra on Wednesday a leading member of OccupyGhana, Ace Ankomah said they have presented a 20-paged dossier to the Attorney General, the leadership of Parliament and other stakeholders in the country to ensure that the GHc3.5 million is also retrieved.
It will be recalled that a revelation on branding of 116 new Chinese Huanghai buses which cost the country GHc 3.6 million caused public outrage.
A leaked Attorney General’s investigation report implied that the contract with Smarttys concluded before the procurement process started an action that violated the nation’s procurement laws.
The public backlash led to the resignation of the then Transport Minister, Dzifa Attivor.
The excess payment was detected by a fact finding committee set up by the Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah.
The committee’s report recommended that Smarttys should refund half of the amount which was an over-payment.
The group is also calling for criminal prosecution of the offenders arguing on grounds of issuing a false certificate ‘that warrant falsely certified that the request for payment was in respect of work done involving the Railway Development Authority for expenditure on railway transport, trains; breach of provisions of the Public Procurement Act.
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By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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