Adjenim Boateng Adjei
President Akufo-Addo on Friday acted swiftly by firing Public Procurement Authority (PPA) Chief Executive, Adjenim Boateng Adjei, over allegations of conflict of interest in the ‘Contract for Sale’ scandal.
A.B. Adjei, as he his popularly known, was suspended by the President last year, pending investigation by the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) into an allegation of conflict of interest levelled against the PPA boss.
It followed the ‘Contract for Sale’ exposé put together by journalist, Manasseh Azure Awuni, highlighting alleged procurement misconducts, which has sparked heated debate.
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After suspending him and at the same time reporting the now sacked boss to CHRAJ to investigate the conflict of interest allegation in the ‘Contract for Sale’, the President then again reported him to the Office of the Special Prosecutor to investigate the aspects of the scandal bordering on criminality.
In the ‘Contracts for Sale’ exposé, there were allegations among other things that Talent Discovery Limited (TDL), a company incorporated in June 2017 and had links with the PPA boss, won a number of government contracts through restrictive tendering.
The documentary also alleged that TDL was engaged in the sale of contracts it won.
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Immediately CHRAJ’s report came out, the Director of Communications at the presidency, Eugene Arhin, issued a statement saying that the President “has, by letter dated Friday, October 30, 2020, terminated the appointment from office of Mr. Adjenim Boateng Adjei as Chief Executive Officer of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), with immediate effect.”
The statement said “this follows the submission of a report to the President by the Commissioner of the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Mr. Joseph Whittal, in which the commission concluded that, on the totality of the evidence, Mr. Adjenim Boateng Adjei had put himself in a position where his personal interests conflicted with the performance of his functions as CEO and board member of the PPA.”
“It will be recalled that on August 22, 2019, President Akufo-Addo suspended Mr. Adjei from office, following the broadcast of allegations made against him in an investigative documentary conducted by Manasseh Azure Awuni, titled Contracts for Sale,” the statement said.
“He, subsequently, referred the allegations involving conflict of interest to CHRAJ, and those relating to potential acts of corruption to the Office of Special Prosecutor, for their action. Having satisfied himself of the fact that the recommendation made by CHRAJ is properly motivated and well-founded, the President has expressed his appreciation and gratitude to Mr. Whittal and CHRAJ for the thorough and methodical manner in which the matter has been addressed,” the Communications Director said.
It turned out that it was only the second time since 1992 that a sitting President was reporting a public official to CHRAJ to be investigated.
The first effort was made by President Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings during the formative years of the CHRAJ.
CHRAJ Report
CHRAJ in its investigation concluded that “on the totality of the evidence, Mr. Adjei had put himself in a position where his personal interests conflicted with the performance of his functions as CEO and board member of the PPA.”
Between Page 164 of the 188-page report, CHRAJ said the sacked PPA boss had been unable to explain the source of large volumes of financial transactions that passed through his bank accounts between March 2017 and August 2019.
In what is termed “Unexplained Wealth”, CHRAJ stated that Mr. Adjei “handled large volumes of cash exceedingly in excess of his known income as CEO of PPA.”
FIC Data
Data provided by the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) and analysed by CHRAJ puts the total transaction during the period within which Mr. Adjei assumed office at GH¢14.8 million, a combined figure from four USD and Euro accounts held at two banks.
“The respondent (Mr. Adjei) opened USD Account No. 9040002473180 at Stanbic Bank on April 3, 2017, after his appointment as CEO of PPA. As of August 28, 2019, a total amount of $516,225 had been credited to the account, and his debits stood at $504,607.87. In respect of his Cedi Account No. 9040002313337 at the same bank opened on January 21, 2017 before his appointment, a total of GH¢3.83 million was credited and GH¢3.81 million debited to the account between the date of his appointment as CEO and August 29, 2019.”
The report added, “His Euro Account at the same bank also had €54,500.00 credited and €37,333 debited for the same period, in addition to his UMB USD Account No. 428872, which had seen cash flow of over $110,000 between December 2018 and March 2019 alone.”
Water Business
According to CHRAJ the PPA boss had told its investigators that the volumes of cash in his account were proceeds from sale of water by Frosty Ice Natural Mineral Water Ltd, a company he said was jointly owned by himself and his wife and lodged in his own account, and said he received money from other family businesses.
According to CHRAJ, their checks at the Registrar General’s Department showed that the water company was incorporated on January 29, 2019, saying, “So, how could a company established in 2019 accumulate so much revenue in 2017 and 2018, before its establishment?”
The CHRAJ report further stated that the PPA boss was a director of over 19 companies, but he claimed that he did not receive any director’s fee from any of those companies “except Beachfront Stevedoring Company Limited.”
By Ernest Kofi Adu