Members of Parliament (MPs) belonging to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) are outraged by the way and manner the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, is allegedly enriching his family and friends with COVID-19 cash.
The President is accused of dubiously awarding COVID-19 contract to Enterprise Life, a subsidiary of the Enterprise Group, which is partly owned by the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta.
The said contract, an insurance package for all frontline health workers, is valued at GH₵10,309,919.00, an amount the Minority claims, was even paid in full to the Enterprise Life at the time government was not even certain about which health worker qualified as a frontline staff and the total number of frontline health workers in the country.
Addressing a press conference in Parliament on Thursday, October 22, 2020, the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, said “We have a President who touted that he was not coming to public service to enrich himself or family but is doing the exact opposite. At a time that Ghanaians and their companies are struggling due to COVID-19, our President did not find it necessary to, at least, open up to other companies in the insurance industry through competitive bidding processes. All the President did is to hand-pick his cousin’s company and doled out more GH¢10 million plus under the cover of insurance premium for health workers”.
He further made a shocking revelation about the award of contract to Frontiers Health Care Services Limited, the company overseeing to the COVID-19 testing of travellers at the Kotoka International Airport at a fee of US$150.00 per head.
“This company was registered on July 21, 2020, just some few weeks to commence operations. The company is owned by Healthcare Solutions Services Limited which is owned by The Peters Family Company Limited, which was also incorporated on June 3, 2020, a month earlier. The Peters Family Company Limited itself is registered as an offshore in Dominica. It is trite knowledge that the Peters Family Company Limited is owned by Nigerian businessman, Benedict Peters; a friend of President Nana Addo”, he noted.
The NDC MPs worried about the sheer disregard for the procurement processes have called on the New Patriotic Party (NPP)-led government to account to the good people of Ghana on how the COVID-19 moneys including loans, grants, allocations and donations have been expended.
“COVID-19 has not, in any way, outlawed due process, transparency and accountability in Ghana. The NPP Government must account for every pesewa received and or spent. Ghanaians want to know. More importantly, the NPP Government should ensure transparency in the award of contracts. Ghana deserves better”, the Minority Leader demanded.
