The Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority in Accra and the Kwadaso College of Agriculture, in Kumasi are to face prosecution over procurement breaches, amounting to approximately GH¢759, 000.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament referred the two institutions to the Office of the Attorney-General last Friday when they appeared before the committee to answer queries about infractions in their accounts.
The procurement violation is captured in the Report of the Auditor-General on the Public Accounts of Ghana – Ministries, Departments and other Agencies (MDAs) for the year ended December 31, 2021.
In the case of the Authority, the report said an examination of procurement records disclosed that between July 2020 and December 2020, purchases totalling GH¢143,209.82 were made without alternative price quotations.
This was in relation to separate payment for accommodation, meals and conference facility to Grand Favour Hotel, Tenack Beach and Resort and Erata Hotel; an uncompetitive procurement contrary to Section 43 of Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663)
Sections 35 and 43 of the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663) require that a procurement entity shall procure goods, services or works by competitive tendering; and that the procurement entity shall request quotations from as many suppliers or contractors as practicable, but from at least three different sources.
“We recommended that the Ag. Chief Executive should investigate the cause of the procurement infractions and any officer found culpable should be appropriately sanctioned,” the report said.
For the college, the report said it violated the same sections of the Act in 61 procurement totaling GH¢ 615,717.00 without obtaining alternative price quotations from other dealers in similar goods and services.
It thus recommended that the heads of the institutions should investigate the cause of the procurement infractions and any officer found culpable should be appropriately sanctioned, failing which the heads should be sanctioned by the ministry.
Appearing before the PAC, the management of the college attempted to explain the circumstances surrounding the procurement but the Chairman of the PAC, Dr James Klutse Avedzi, asked them to explain to the Attorney-General or the judge that would hear the case.
“If you have any explanation, give that to the judge. I can listen to you, but it will not change anything,” and instructed the clerk of the committee to add the name of the institution to the list to be sent to the Attorney-General.
Earlier last week at the sitting Dr Avedzi explained that in clear cases of procurement breaches, the committee would refer institutions which violated the procurement laws to the Attorney-General’s office for action to be taken against them.
BY JONATHAN DONKOR
