Bawku Central MP Petitions OSP to investigate BoG Over New Headquarters Procurement
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Bawku Central in the Upper East region, Mahama Ayariga, has filed a complaint with the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to investigate the procurement of the new headquarters building of the Bank of Ghana (BoG).
In a letter dated October 30, 2023 to the OSP, Mr Ayariga alleged that the procurement process was tainted with corruption and that the price of the project had escalated from $121.8 million to $222.7 million (about 84%) without a corresponding increase in the scope of work.
Mr Ayariga said that he had requested information on the project from the Governor of the BoG under the Right to Information Act, but that the Governor had refused to provide him with full details on the grounds of national security.
The MP said that he was ready to testify to all the facts he had come across in the matter and that he believed the OSP would be able to obtain all the details of the project design variation and costing variations to arrive at a conclusion.
“I am ready to testify to all the facts I have come across in this matter and I believe your office will be able to obtain all the details of the variations of the project design and costing variations to arrive at a conclusion on the matter.”
“When I wrote to the Governor for an explanation, he responded to me in a letter dated 22nd August 2023 and referenced SFGEN702375, to the effect that he is unable to provide me with full details of the project design variation which has led to the price escalation for the reasons of “National Security,” he stated.
He alleged that the suspects in this case included the Governor and Deputy Governors of the BoG, namely Dr Ernest Addison (Governor), Dr Maxwell Opoku-Afari (1st Deputy Governor) and Mrs Elsie Addo Awadzi (2nd Deputy Governor).
He also wants Members of the Board of Directors to be investigated.
The other suspect, Mr Ayariga said was the Chief Executive Officer of Messrs; Goldkey Properties Ltd who are the contractors and the project consultants supervising the work.
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