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A former Chief Executive of the DVLA, Justice Amegashie, is begging Ghanaians for forgiveness after failing to explain a mysterious jump in contract sum from $3.6million to $9.9million.
Mr. Amegashie admitted he signed a $3.6million contract and does not know how the figure changed so dramatically changed and became $9.9million.
Justice Amegashie failed to explain the jump in the contract sum that has shocked the public following Joy News investigations.
He was speechless after Parliament’s Select Committee on Transport demanded an explanation during a hearing in Accra on Monday
“To err is human” he finally told the committee. Justice Amegashie wants justice to be tampered with mercy.
The DVLA contract with Foto-X was renewed in 2014 soon after Justice Amegashie took office. But he expressed surprised when it later came up that the contract he signed was not $3.6 million but $9.9 million, nearly triple the contract sum.
“I have never authorized, I have never directed anybody for the purposed of varying the figures. If I had seen it I would have stopped it”.
“I cannot sit here and say that I presided over changing figures” he stressed. Amegashie said he reiterated this position when the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) demanded answers.
EOCO is threatening to charge Justice Amegashie with causing financial loss to the state following the controversial signing. Parliament’s Transport Committee is demanding for further documents to unravel the mystery surrounding the disparities in the contract sum.
It was expected that Foto-X would not have to continue with a ‘Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) contract to printing hard card drivers’ licences. The DVLA was supposed to take over in 2012 after the contract, first signed in 2006, expired.
But Justice Amegashie re-signed Foto-X explaining there was no one to take over from Foto-X.
He said there was also intense pressure on DVLA to issue licences after a huge backlog of more than 250,000.
He claimed the DVLA caved in to the fear of public backlash and on the advice of the then Transport Minister Collins Dauda who directed that Foto-X be re-engaged.
Director of Licencing at DVLA Musa described the deal as the “worst-ever signed by the DVLA”.
He told the committee that DVLA raised serious concerns about the quality of the licences and also identified operational challenges.
He claims Foto-X boss also refused to submit yearly reports as required in the 2006 contract. Foto-X would not come for meetings called by DVLA and also failed to implement requested changes.
“All the changes that we wanted they will not do it”, Musa expressed his dissatisfaction.
He claimed that Foto-X became a one-man show after its manager sacked all its employees.
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