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‘Rejected’ Juaben MCE nominee to face Special Prosecutor on Tuesday over bribery allegations

The President’s Municipal Chief Executive nominee for Juaben in the Ashanti Region, Alex Safo Kantanka, will later this week face the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng over allegations of bribery and corruption against him.

On Monday November 2, 2021, assembly members of Juaben gathered for the second time to confirm the President’s nominee, Alex Safo Kantanka, after the first attempt failed.

However, the nominee failed to obtain the required number votes for confirmation.

Following his rejection, the nominee was captured in a video demanding from some assembly members monies he was alleged to have given in return for their votes.

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Resource OSP with adequate funding to fight corruption – CSOs to Akufo-Addo

A group of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) working on anti-corruption and good governance issues in the country are calling on President Akufo-Addo to make the necessary funding available to resource the Office of the Special Prosecutor to execute his mandate effectively.

The group of CSOs on October 26, 2021, had a meeting with the Special Prosecutor (SP), Mr. Kissi Agyebeng, at his office at Ridge, Accra.

The meeting, called at the instance of the SP was to deliberate on how best the OSP can work with CSOs to engender a public space where corruption can be made a high risk and low reward activity.

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PPA busts road contractor using fake certificate

A road contractor has accused the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) of wrongly suspending and blacklisting his company over a contract in which his company did not participate.

Chief Executive of Markyei Company Limited, Kofi Kyei Baffour has told Corruption Watch that his company did not bid for the three road contracts that the PPA cited in a suspension notice. 

Recently, Corruption Watch discovered that the Public Procurement Authority had “suspended and blacklisted” Markyei Company Limited “from participating in any government project or tender” in the country.

According to a notice published on the PPA’s website (https://ppa.gov.gh/) on September 22, 2021, the PPA has “suspended and blacklisted” Markyei Company Limited for a period of one year. 

The PPA notice stated that the sanctions commenced on August 11, 2021 and will last until close of business on August 11, 2022. 

According to the procurement ombudsman, it has suspended and blacklisted Markyei Company Limited for submitting “fake PPA Supplier registration certificate, in a tender by the Department of Feeder Roads (DFR) for resealing and upgrading of roads in the Kwahu East and South and Birim South District, Eastern Region.” 

According to the PPA, the company’s behaviour constitutes “A fraudulent action and an infringement of the provisions of the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663) as amended.”

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Dampare is working to detach the police from corruption, unholy tag – ACP Kwesi Ofori

The Director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service, ACP Kwesi Ofori, has said the Inspector of General of Police, Dr. George Akuffo Dampare is on a mission to restore the image of the law enforcement agency.

According to him, the IGP has a clear vision and direction upon which he is going to deliver his mandate.

ACP Kwesi Ofori made this known on Saturday, October 30, 2021, on Joy FM’s Newsfile.

He added that the IGP has made it clear to all police officers that, issues of corruption and other unholy acts will not be countenanced under his leadership.

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The Three Stages Of Corruption: How We Are All Part Of The Problem

Some weeks ago, I was in a taxi traveling from one town to another here in Ghana. Beside the fact that the driver was speeding a little over the optimal speed limit, I was terribly annoyed for one other reason. Obvious for selfish reasons, the driver had packed three grown-up women and an adolescent child at the back seats of the taxi that ideally should take two passengers. What was more? Right there in the front seat, I was folding myself into the thinnest possible shape to accommodate a lady whom the driver pleaded will alight just a few distance away. Being lenient enough, I obliged, but was soon to realize, regrettably, I was deceived as the lady parasited my seat all the way to the final destination.

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Ghana Integrity Initiative calls for all-hands on deck approach to fight corruption

The Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) is calling on every Ghanaian to play a role in the fight against corruption.

This has been emphasised by the programmes manager at GII, Mrs. Mary Awelana Addah whiles speaking at a stakeholder engagement in Tamale organized by GII together with Ghana Developing Communities Association and SEND-Ghana.

At the programme organised to empower citizens to be able to demand accountability from leaders, the GII manager bemoaned how corruption has evolved over the years.

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Audit bodies chase Mental Health Authority

Corruption Watch has discovered that the Mental Health Authority (MHA) is becoming a serial offender in effectively accounting for public funds allocated to it. 

The Auditor-General, for instance, questions the whereabouts of almost 200 thousand Ghana cedis of funds disbursed to the MHA in recent years.

In addition, the Internal Audit Agency (IAA) has shamed the MHA for failing to submit three consecutive quarterly internal audit reports and one annual internal audit work plan. 

The IAA insists that the submission of various reports and plans to the Agency provides “an assurance that existing control systems are working in the form and manner required.”

Reacting, Professor Akwasi Osei, the Chief Executive of the MHA, said he was not aware that the IAA had shamed the MHA for audit infractions. Besides, doubted the IAA’s claim that the MHA had not submitted internal audit work plan and reports, saying he needed to confirm from his team whether they did not submit the reports. 

In a telephone interview with Corruption Watch on Tuesday, Professor Osei disagreed with the recommendations of the Auditor-General that he should refund unaccounted funds that had been disbursed to the MHA’s partners. 

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RTI Commission urged to quickly complete necessary Legislative Instrument

The Right to Information (RTI) Commission has been prevailed upon to expedite action on the processes would see the passage of the needed Legislative Instrument for the full operationalization of the Right to Information law.

The Right to Information Bill was passed by the 7th Parliament of the 4th Republic on March 26, 2019, and assented to by the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on May 21, 2019. It was however scheduled to be implemented beginning January 2020 so that it could be captured in the 2020 budget. Since it came into force in January 2020, it has been without a Legislative Instrument as is required.

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School Feeding Programme shrugs off corruption allegations

The Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP) has described as “palpably false, frivolous, unfounded and malicious” claims that the current leadership is corrupt.

“It was only calculated to tarnish the image of the leadership of GSFP and bring the name of the secretariat into disrepute,” a newspaper rejoinder issued by the Programme on Tuesday, September 28 insisted.

This comes in the wake of a publication in the Weekend Crusading Guide on Saturday, September 10, quoting one Madam Caroline Aboagye, with the headline ‘School Feeding Needs Overhauling’ that leadership of the Programme is not transparent in its dealings with caterers and other stakeholders.

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CW Report: How Airport Company, Ghana Post and Graphic managers sat on workers’ pensions and taxes

The Auditor-General has indicted some public companies and corporations for mishandling workers funds as well as taxes they should have paid to the Ghana Revenue Authority. 

The Auditor-General cites the Ghana Post Company Limited, Ghana Airport Company, Graphic Communications Group Limited, The New Times Corporation (popularly called Ghanaian Times) and the Architectural and Engineering Services Limited (AESL) for malpractices including failing to pay taxes, pensions and insurance deductions to respective institutions and funds.

It must be stated that many of the findings relate to occurrences in 2017, 2018 and 2019 financial years even though the details are captured in the Report of the Auditor General on the Public Accounts of Ghana – Public Boards, Corporations and Other Statutory Institutions for the year ended 31 December 2020.

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The Auditor-General reveals that the total financial irregularities found in this round of audit at public boards, corporations and other institutions stood at GH¢12,856,172,626 as at the end of December 2020.

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