Godfred Yeboah Dame
The Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah, has expressed reservation about growing corruption in the various stages of the public procurement process in spite of protective measures in place in Ghana.
According to him, Ghana has enacted a set of laws in the financial sector, founded on the principles of integrity, to regulate procurement in the public sector and to curb abuse and insider trading in view of the preeminent role public procurement plays in the development of the nation.
In spite of this, he noted that public officials responsible for procurement activities in public institutions continue to engage in insider trading, an act he says is having a significant negative impact on the economy and the development of society.
“Insider trading is just one of many unethical behaviours. Some officials responsible for procurement activities in various public institutions abuse the trust by engaging in what is popularly known as “behind the scenes” business with contractors and suppliers. The unique position they occupy gives them access to insider information, which they unethically convey to contractors or suppliers to hand an unfair advantage to them over their competitors in a bidding process,” the Attorney General stated.
Mr. Dame was speaking at the 40th International Symposium on Economic Crime at the University of Cambridge in England.
The event brought together Attorneys General from various countries and people at the helm of the prevention and reduction of abuse to the financial system worldwide, and whose voices and actions matter globally, in the establishment of values that protect the global financial system from the consequences of economic crime and misconduct.
The Attorney General, in a keynote address, indicated that insider trading in the public procurement process in Ghana results in dissatisfaction and defeats the principle of fairness in procurement.
He said the detection of false or inconsistent claims by contractors is hampered by the illicit protection extended by public procurement officers who have the mandate to detect and revise them.
He cited for example, the case of former Public Procurement Authority, Adjenim Boateng Adjei, who was implicated in the ‘Contract For Sale’ investigative piece which accused him of winning government contract through his company, which were then sold to other contractors at a higher price.
“The revelation of these acts promptly resulted in the termination of his employment by the President of the Republic and a withdrawal of his membership of various professional institutions and subsequent prosecution which is still ongoing,” Mr. Dame told the gathering.
He also touched on other financial crimes in the country and made reference to the Mezgold saga, indicating that “the misery and distress caused to many homes nearly unleashed a social crisis as riots and demonstrations broke out on the streets of Accra and other parts of the country.”
He also told the gathering that criminal proceedings have been initiated against the perpetrators as the Attorney General has filed 39 charges against Nana Appiah Mensah, aka NAM1 and two of his companies; Menzgold Ghana Limited and Brew Consult.
Measures
Some of the measures put in place to ensure accountability and integrity in the public procurement process, according to the Attorney General, include the enactment of the Right to Information Act which he said aims at fostering “a culture of transparency and accountability in public affairs, subject to a few exemptions necessary and consistent with the protection of the public interest in a democratic society.”
Another is the amendment to the Whistleblower Act which ensures that thirty percent of all revenue accruing from cases conducted on the strength of a whistleblower’s activity is paid into the Fund, and 10% of the income directly generated by the whistleblower’s efforts is paid to the whistleblower.
“Policies like a robust National Identification System, Digital Property Address System, Paperless Port Systems, E-Justice Systems, Pensions and Insurance data and a digitised Land Title Registry have as their overarching objective, the need to enhance transparency, accountability and efficiency in the public space. A digitised environment ultimately helps to eliminate and prevent corruption in various institutions and agencies,” Mr. Dame added.
The Attorney General also emphasised the need to ramp up international effort and cooperation to tackle economic crimes, indicating that “We must be acutely aware that the development and integrity of the global financial system are at risk from exploiters of weaknesses in the system to perpetrate financially motivated crime.”
“But we can conquer wrongdoers and opportunists through a coordinated effort based on mutual cooperation between criminal justice partners and the private sector worldwide,” he added.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak