Mahama Ayariga
The Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, has petitioned the Office of the Special Prosecutor for the second time over an alleged procurement breaches by the Bank of Ghana in the construction of its new head office complex in Accra.
The MP is calling on the OSP to investigate the members of the Central Bank’s board owing to the price escalation of the project from USD121,078,517.94 to USD222,799,760.55.
In October 2023, Mahama Ayariga made a formal complaint to the OSP over the same matter, citing alleged corruption in the procurement processes of the new building, and mentioning the Governor, Ernest Addison, and his two deputies as the suspects.
The petition also noted that the bank had originally priced the project at USD100,857,942.48 but got the project awarded to the contractors at an inflated cost.
He thus, in the second petition, reminded the OSP that ‘the Ghanaian public remains interested in the development of this investigation’.
Meanwhile, in his current letter to the OSP on Monday, March 11, 2024, Mr. Ayariga requested an update on the matter.
“This is to follow up on your investigation of the complaint of suspected procurement breaches relating to the new headquarters building of the Bank of Ghana at Ridge, Accra.”
He emphasized the OSP’s authority to investigate suspected corruption cases, urging transparency in public funds’ utilization.
-BY Daniel Bampoe