Mahama Ayariga to report the Governor and deputies to OSP for corruption under the new BoG complex

Mahama Ayariga to report the Governor and deputies to OSP for corruption under the new BoG complex 

Mahama Ayariga, the member of parliament for Bawku Central, has declared his intention to report Ernest Addison, the governor of the Bank of Ghana, and his appointees for investigation and potential prosecution to the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).

The MP stated in a letter to the Governor dated October 2 that the complaint will centre on corruption and corruption-related offences in regard to the awarding of a contract for the construction of a new headquarters building for the Bank of Ghana.

In response to his Right to Information Request, Mr. Ayariga claimed that the BoG had not adequately addressed his inquiries about the project's price, the project's scope, the bill of materials, and the start and end dates of the contract.

"I have a suspicion that your team overcharged the project in order to potentially make money for themselves by working together with the contractors. Part of the letter states, "I reject your use of "national security issues" as an excuse to refuse to adequately respond to my queries.

Mr. Ayariga pointed out that while the bank had provided information on the number of blocks and other facilities that would be constructed in the new facility, they had omitted to do so for the work's scope.

He mentioned that the Public Procurement Authority has dropped the anticipated cost from US$100.857,924.48 that BoG had originally suggested to US$81.882,640.00.

However, he noted that the project's estimated cost increased from its initial figure to US$121,078.517.94 and subsequently to US$222,799,760.55.

"According to your assertion, a square metre of your scope of work costs USD$2,068.00 per unit. The current project price is US$222.799,760,55. So, using basic maths, we can quickly determine the size of the project and determine that it is approximately 107.737 square metres. The cost per square metre is the basis for estimating the project cost, according to the briefing on the CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS PROJECT.

"We anticipate a commensurate shift in the project's cost when the scope of work was increased from 73,000 square metres to roughly 107.737 square metres. However, while the project cost varied by 84%, the variation in the project's scope of work was only roughly 36.9%. From US$121,078,517.94 to US$222,799,760.55, the price changed.

According to Mr. Agayriga, this discrepancy between the project's cost and change in scope of work is unjustified and "can only be explained by suspected project cost padding and corruption."

"Your failure to offer information that would help anyone comprehend the pricing confirms my conviction that significant corruption is what caused the office project's price to increase from US$81.882640.00 to US$121,078.517.94 and then to US$222,799,760.55. even more so considering that you personally put forward a price of US$100,857,924.48.

"In light of the aforementioned analysis of the project cost change and your cowardly choice to conceal behind "national security issues," you were right to withhold the necessary information that would have exposed blatant corruption and overpricing of a public project. I am forced to disclose what I perceive to be a case of suspected "corruption and corruption-related offences" to the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) in accordance with sections 2(a) and 79 of The Office of Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959)."

The MP for Bawku Central declared that he is committed to pursuing the matter until the BoG is transparent. This is what we do out of love for our nation and to make Ghana a better place.

The full statement is here below to read: