According to her, she was not engaged in the process of procuring the said vehicles from Detrox Impex Company Limited, the company that allegedly sold the vehicles to MASLOC for  GHc28.8 million.

The Minister said this in response to an urgent question filed in Parliament by the Member of Parliament for Ashaiman, Ernest Norgbey.

[contextly_sidebar id=”pL2uPN3k0b2VBYXpfgLEgKZ3vFXWupwo”]MASLOC has been accused of purchasing some 1,800 vehicles from Detrox Impex  through sole-sourcing for GH¢28.8 million without recourse to procurement processes.

According to the Ashaiman legislator, the contract, which was awarded to the private firm did not go through competitive bidding.

He insisted that the contract should not have been sole-sourced, saying it is illegal.

“At the time that these contracts were signed, there was no board in place, but the CEO took it upon himself to do all these things. We keep talking about sole sourcing and fighting corruption, but if one CEO can take the decision to award a contract worth GH¢28.8 million, then there is every cause to worry,” he said.

Meanwhile, responding to the issue in Parliament today, Wednesday, Adwoa Safo asked the MP to redirect the question to the Minister for Finance.

“My office does not undertake procurement for any Ministry. Every Ministry is mandated to procure in accordance with the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663).”

“Per the Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663) and (Act 914) as amended, Public Procurement Authority (PPA) is the regulatory body charged with the mandate of granting procurement approvals and ensuring compliance with all relevant procurement rules and processes. The PPA as [an] agency [is] legally placed under the Ministry of Finance.”

She said “…in accordance with the Standing Orders of Parliament, all questions ought to be directed to the Ministry of Finance.”

However, the Ashaiman MP was unhappy with the Minister’s response, questioning why she was appointed Procurement Minister if she cannot answer questions on the subject matter.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that the said contract the MP is complaining about is non-existent because it has already been abrogated over similar procurement concerns.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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The Chinese Government also said it was excited about the gains made by the Ghanaian Government in the area of public procurement ever since it assumed office in January 2017.

“We were very impressed by the figures the President gave during his message on the State of the Nation”, the Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Madam Sun Baohong said when Madam Adwoa Safo paid a courtesy call on her at her office in Accra last Wednesday, February 21, 2018.

Among the notable gains touted by the Akufo-Addo administration, the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) received 394 sole sourcing applications but approved 223, representing 56.6% and rejected 171 applications, representing 4.6%.

In 2016, the PPA received 622 sole sourcing applications but 577 were approved, representing 98% while 25 applications were rejected.

“So, comparatively, for sole sourcing alone, the approvals that we gave in 2017 was 56.6% compared to 98% in 2016. That is a very impressive way to start”, Madam Adwoa Safo told the Chinese Ambassador.

On restrictive tendering, the PPA, she added, received 346 applications in 2017 but only 164, representing 48% were approved while a total of 179 applications, representing 52% were rejected.

In 2016, the PPA received 592 applications on restrictive tendering but 587, representing 99.15% were approved while only 5 applications were rejected.

“If you compare in our case for restrictive tendering, we approved 167 applications, representing 48% in 2017 while in 2016 99.15% were approved. The figures are so clear. If we open our eyes on restrictive tendering and make sure we set our eyes to protect the public purse, we can do it because, for a year, we’ve been able to do it”, she said.

In response to this, Madam Baohong assured that the Chinese Government was committed to helping Ghana fight corruption.

She said the Chinese Government advised its businessmen and women wanting to do business in Ghana to do so in a very legal way so that there will be peace and harmony between the two countries.

Madam Baohong also assured the Public Procurement Minister of the Chinese Government’s willingness to supporting her ministry’s capacity building programs in China to equip the personnel with the requisite knowledge and skills to perform efficiently.

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Dr. Jarvis Abilla, a Medical Superintendent at the Ga South Municipal Hospital attributed the high rate to sedentary lifestyle of the traders at the market as well as their failure to go for regular medical checkup.

This came to light during a free health screening organized by the Philipa Baafi Foundation for the of people who sell at the Dome market.

Hundreds of traders, shoppers and passersby’s trooped to the Dome Market located in Ga East Municipality of the Greater Accra Region, for the “How Well Are You” health screening campaign by the popular musician and physio therapist, Philipa Baafi.

Most of the traders stopped selling to undergo the screening process.

Apart from the health screening, Philipa Baafi, also performed some of her hit songs and also conducted physiotherapy treatment for some of the patients.

Participants were also advised on measures to live healthy lifestyles.

The Member of Parliament for the Dome-Kwabenya constituency, Sarah Adwoa Safo who also attended the screening exercise urged the participants to take issues about their health seriously.

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Source: Philipa Baafi Foundation

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According to Adwoa Safo, she secured the necessary funding from the World Bank for the project hence should be credited for it.

“It is absurd for the NDC [National Democratic Congress] administration to claim ownership of the Kwabenya SHS project, when they are aware that, all the Community Day SHSs built by the former President Mahama were situated only in their strongholds,” she said while addressing her constituents.

But speaking on the Point Blank segment on Eyewitness News, Ablakwa dismissed these claims, saying the project was part of Mahama’s 200 community SHS project executed nationwide.

“The World Bank appraisal document is available even on the World Bank website as we speak. The World Bank has no room for dealing with Members of Parliament on this government interventions. If this is her project then the World Bank would have released funds to her and she would have then gone through the procurement processes and award the project. I bet you, Adwoa Safo does not even know who the contractor is for this project. She does not know how this project was awarded. There is really no need to engage in this outright falsehood,” he noted.

Ablakwa said although he respects Adwoa Safo who aside being the deputy Majority Leader in Parliament is also the Minister of Procurement, “I do not expect that she will do that.”

“When President Mahama commissioned the project, I was there. He actually commissioned that one the same day he commissioned the one at the Adentan constituency. She was not even there. The MP who says today that we shouldn’t take credit, she couldn’t even have the courage to show up. We invited everyone …we invited the assembly, the MP because this is a national project. It is not just about NDC, it’s a national project,” Ablakwa added.

Commissioning of Kwabenya Community SHS

Former President John Mahama commissioned the Kwabenya Community SHS on November 12, 2016.

He promised to upgrade the Kwabenya to Berekuso but he could not retain the presidency to fulfill that promise.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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Her warning follows the termination of contracts by some  heads of various MMDAs and MDAs, a few days after they assumed their respective roles.

[contextly_sidebar id=”xNdYJS3s8DdWiPsVg1hzFTFeYkDBMqcE”]The Minister in a statement indicated that, the decision to abrogate these contracts without the Procurement Ministry’s consent, might lead to “unnecessary legal battles between government and contractors which could spark needless and avoidable payment of judgement debts.”

Adwoa Safo clarified that, although she “has no doubt about the competence of heads of entities to make a judgement on what a good contract is from a bad one”, she  believes that it is “always important to seek legal and expert advice before a decision to abrogate a contract is taken.”

Ms Safo has therefore directed that, all queries on some of these contracts should be “directed or be referred to the office of the Minister of State responsible for Public Procurement for further investigations and recommendations.”

Below is the Minister’s full statement 

ABROGATION OF GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS

The Minister of state responsible for Public Procurement, Hon. Sarah Adwoa Safo has observed with grave concern, recent media publications regarding abrogation of Government Contracts by some MMDA’s and MDAs

She has, therefore, advised all heads of entities within the MMDAS and MDAS to refer all such questionable contracts to her office for expert and legal advice.

The Minister  has no doubt about the competence of heads of entities to make a judgement on  what a good contract is from a bad one, however, she believes it is always important to seek legal and expert advice before a decision to abrogate a contract is taken.

Hon. Adwoa Safo noted that the move will prevent any unnecessary legal battles between government and contractors which could spark needless and avoidable payment of judgement debts.

In effect, she has a letter communicated to all Heads of entities within MMDAS and MDAs to stop terminating contracts forthwith.

Ms Safo has further directed that all queries on some of these contracts should be directed or be referred to the office of the  Minister of State responsible  for Public Procurement for further investigations and recommendations.

Please send all correspondence in the interim to this office:

Office of the Minister of State in charge of Public Procurement

Office of the President – Flagstaff House, Accra

P.M.B 62, Accra -Ghana

Or

Parliament House 9th floor (West Wing), Room 22.

Signed,

HON. SARAH ADWOA SAFO (MP)

MINISTER FOR PROCUREMENT

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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The post Stop abrogating contracts without my consent – Adwoa Safo warns appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The two are Sarah Adwoa Safo, Deputy Majority Leader and Member of Parliament (MP) for Dome Kwbenya, now Minister of State in Charge of Public Procurement and O.B Amoah, MP for Akwapim South, now Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development.

This follows the appointment of the two as Ministers of State.

Ms Safo was on the South Africa based Pan African Parliament, and Mr Amoah on the Abuja based ECOWAS Parliament.

The replacement of Ms Safo comes under Rule 8 (4) of the Rules of Procedure of the Pan-African Parliament, where a member loses his or her seat when he or she is appointed to executive or judicial position.

The House therefore resolved that in accordance with the rules nominated Mrs Cynthia Mamle Morrison, MP for Agona West to replace Ms Safo, whilst Mr Alexander Kwamena Afenyo- Markin, MP for Efutu, replaced Mr Amoah.

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Source: GNA

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She described as sad, revelations by the Auditor General’s annual reports that 80 percent of the procurement malpractices are centered on sole sourcing.

[contextly_sidebar id=”BxUG2YIU8AVjk2Hcqw9OYTI6rDvQFNZa”]Addressing the press on Friday, Adwoa Safo, who is also the Member of Parliament for the Dome Kwabenya constituency said the Akufo-Addo administration will rely on open competitive tendering to correct what she described as anomaly in the procurement act.

“From 2012 to 2014 when I was on the public accounts committee, about 80% of their recommendations to parliament are procurement malpractices… So I think that if the law is there, you need also a policy direction. And I think that, that is the first step that the president has given us in his state of the nation address.”

“His [President Akufo-Addo] policy direction is that this government is going to adopt open competitive tendering, so that there is openness, transparency, accountability, value for money and competition is opened to everybody including Ghanaians,” she noted.

The New Patriotic Party administration accused the Mahama administration of having a voracious appetite for sole sourcing of contracts which were inflated at times.

The NPP argued that, sole sourcing allowed corruption, and benefited a privileged few in the NDC government.

Adwoa Safo is a professional lawyer with specialization in Procurement Law.

She once worked as the first legal officer of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) for two (2) years, and was very instrumental in the formulation of the proposals that formed the basis for the creation of the Appeals and Complaint Panel of PPA, and the change of the name Public Procurement Board to Public Procurement Authority.

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By: Godwin A. Allotey & Sixtus Dong Ullo/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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The Minority on Friday, boycotted Otiko Djaba’s approval after raising concerns about her failure to undertake her one-year mandatory national service, among other things.

[contextly_sidebar id=”CdcSpHWrgucvuzqB3oEPEQyzobI8OF26″]But the NPP Dome Kwabenya Legislator on Eyewitness  News, said the Minority has no moral right challenging Otiko Djaba’s approval on that basis since some NDC Ministers including the former Deputy Minister for Local Government, Oti Bless, equally failed to meet that criteria but was approved, when the party was in power.

“Oti Bless was passed by majority decision, although he had also not done national service and even in his case, he was not serious. I am not doing equalization, but if you push to that level that is what we have to refer to. In Oti Bless’ case, he even went to the Board and the Board gave him a waiver and it is not at the time that you are going into public office that you go and constitute a board to give you a waiver so you can appear before the Appointments Committee.”

“He that wants equity must come with clean hands. If they are crying out loud now, why were they not crying in Oti Bless’ era?. If the need be, we all have to move forward together but you cant come to equity when your hands are always soiled…”

In Adwoa Safo’s view, the Minority failed “to give themselves an opportunity to check” and only jumped into conclusions.

“They have drawn into conclusions that by hook or crook we are not going to reach a consensus on Madam Otiko Afisa Djaba,” she stated.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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