Even before the dust had settled on the infamous GH¢3.6 million Metro Mass bus rebranding saga, yet another revelation has been made involving the same company – Smarttys Managament and Productions – that undertook the questionable contract that received widespread condemnation.
This time around, it has to do with a $98 million contract for an electrification project by a Chinese company.
Minority Leader in Parliament and Member of Parliament (MP) for Suame in Kumasi, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, who sounded the alarm bells on the deal in Parliament, said Selassie Ibrahim – the woman who was in the news recently for using her company (Smarttys) to fleece the state to the tune of GH¢3.6 million in respect of the rebranding of 116 Metro Mass buses – is fronting for a Chinese engineering company for the contract.
Originally, the cost of rebranding of each bus was said to have been GH¢100, totalling GH¢11,600.00 for all the 116 vehicles.
Later, documents showed that government was billed an amount of GH¢3.6 million for the contract which from all indications did not go through competitive bidding since Smarttys was handpicked for the job which stoked public outcry and probe and led to the resignation of the Transport Minister, Dzifa Attivor, sometime last week.
The Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, tasked the Attorney General, Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong, to look into the matter and she came out with a damning verdict that led to the resignation of the Transport Minister and an order for Sellasie to refund GH¢1.9 million to the state for overpricing.
In this latest deal which according to the Minority Leader only came to their attention at the last sitting of parliament, Smarttys is acting as local agent for the Chinese company in the $98 million electrification contract. Already $9 million is said to have been cut from the contract sum through re-evaluation, but Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu says more could be saved if further scrutiny is made.
Mr Osei-Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, who spoke to DAILY GUIDE, said when the issue came before the house last week, the Minority raised issues with it.
Government seemed to be bent on pushing it through since it claimed it contracted a company by name Crown Agents to do due diligence on the deal that saved the nation some $9 million, he added.
But the Minority Leader is still not satisfied with that justification, considering the company involved (Smarttys) and coming on the heels of a major scandal which has not been completely dealt with, even though Mr Julius Debrah has issued a directive for the company to refund GH¢1.9 million of the money back to the state.
Premature
“As far as I am concerned, it is premature to bring this deal to parliament for approval coming on the heels of this bus saga which involved the same company,” he said in an interview with the paper.
“This is a woman who is involved in some impropriety. The matter is pending. It is on the front burner and then we allow her to front for a Chinese company and offer her contract to the tune of $98 million,” he said in an interview on Citi FM while asking rhetorically, “Are we serious as a nation?”
For him, it would therefore be prudent for government to exercise some caution in its bid to push the deal through before it turns out to be another scandal.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu believes it will be inappropriate for the state to sign the $98 million contract with the Chinese firm because of Mrs Ibrahim’s involvement.
The Suame MP also wants a freeze on all contracts existing between the government and Smarrty’s until investigations into the bus rebranding scandal are over and done with.
“Why let out sheep to pasture when the earlier flock has still not returned from grazing?” he queried.
He wondered if the order to Smarrtys to refund the GH¢1.9 million would be the end of the matter.
“So, as she has been asked to refund the money, would Selassie be prosecuted or she walks free once she settles that amount?” the Minority Leader quizzed.
“We must ensure that she is prosecuted because she obtained the payment by wrongful means.
“Also, we are told that the money paid to Smarrtys came from our oil revenue. So, who withdrew money from the national coffers for Selassie? That person must also face the music,” Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu fumed.
As far as the bus rebranding scandal is concerned, the legislator revealed that he posed a question to the Transport Minister during her appearance before parliament about the rebranding of the buses, but Mrs Attivor “feigned ignorance” about the matter and only said she would return to furnish the house with more information once she had apprised herself of the facts.
The MP asked: “So, who did it in her name? And if she had knowledge about it and lied to parliament, then she could be cited for perjury before parliament, even after her resignation.”
