{"id":409865,"date":"2018-03-14T17:52:56","date_gmt":"2018-03-14T17:52:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=409865"},"modified":"2018-03-15T07:11:08","modified_gmt":"2018-03-15T07:11:08","slug":"question-finance-ministry-for-1800-masloc-cars-not-me-adwoa-safo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2018\/03\/question-finance-ministry-for-1800-masloc-cars-not-me-adwoa-safo\/","title":{"rendered":"Question Finance Ministry for 1,800 MASLOC cars, not me – Adwoa Safo"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Minister of State in charge of Procurement, Sarah Adwoa Safo, has denied her outfit\u2019s involvement in the procurement of some 1,800 vehicles<\/strong><\/a><\/span> by the Micro Finance and Small Loans Centre [MASLOC].<\/p>\n

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\u00a0 GHc28.8 million.<\/p>\n

The Minister said this in response to an urgent question filed in Parliament by the Member of Parliament for Ashaiman, Ernest Norgbey.<\/p>\n

[contextly_sidebar id=”pL2uPN3k0b2VBYXpfgLEgKZ3vFXWupwo”]MASLOC has been accused of purchasing some 1,800 vehicles from Detrox Impex \u00a0through sole-sourcing for GH\u00a228.8 million without recourse to procurement processes.<\/p>\n

According to the Ashaiman legislator, the contract, which was awarded to the private firm did not go through competitive bidding.<\/p>\n

He insisted that the contract should not have been sole-sourced, saying it is illegal.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt 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\u00a228.8 million, then there is every cause to worry,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, responding to the issue in Parliament today, Wednesday, Adwoa Safo asked the MP to redirect the question to the Minister for Finance.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy office does not undertake procurement for any Ministry. Every Ministry is mandated to procure in accordance with the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663).\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPer 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said \u201c\u2026in accordance with the Standing Orders of Parliament, all questions ought to be directed to the Ministry of Finance.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n

By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana
\nFollow @AlloteyGodwin<\/a>
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