Dr Ernest Addison – BoG Governor
A cancelled GH4.6 billion dollar deal between the Bank of Ghana and information technology service provider Sibton Switch has led to a billion-dollar law suit filed by the company, according to a Business and Financial Times (B&FT) report.
The suit, filed at an arbitration tribunal in London, alleges the central bank granted Sibton Switch a contract to develop the Ghana Retail Payments Systems Infrastructure (GRPSI), but the billion dollars the company invested in the project has gone to waste after the plan nose-dived.
The project was intended to ensure complete interoperability of Ghana’s payment systems in an effort to provide convenient electronic transactions for consumers in need of goods and services.
According to sources, investors expressed concern over the deal. They say BoG’s subsidiary, the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS), could have executed the contract for much less than one billion dollars.
The current government insists the Sibton contract has been repealed, but BoG has yet to comment on the contract’s status, according to B&FT.
Since then, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia launched an all-inclusive mobile money interoperability system under GhIPSS. It is the first of its kind in Ghana and cost $4.6 million.
Meanwhile, members of protest movement Occupy Ghana are requesting details from Bawumia and the central bank. They claim they are seeking all relevant documents and contracts related to the abrogated Sibton contract and the new one signed with GhIPSS.
Sibton is seeking payment for non-enforcement of the contract signed in August 2016.
-Myjoyonline