Sacked PPA boss wants court to overturn Akufo-Addo dismissal
The dismissed Public Procurement Authority boss has sued CHRAJ on grounds of unfair treatment over the ‘contract for sale saga’.
The PPA boss, Adjeinim Boateng Adjei, also known as AB Adjei has filed a suit at the Accra High Court on November 27, 2020, challenging the commission’s probe.
Mr. Adjei has urged the High Court to quash the decision by CHRAJ and expunge it from the records.
He is also asking the court to revoke President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s directive to him to vacate his post which was premised on a request by CHRAJ.
The dismissed PPA boss has accused the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice of breaching the principle of natural justice by keeping certain key information from him and his lawyers.
He argued that he was kept in the dark over witnesses whose testimonies CHRAJ relied on to make the judgment.
Mr. Adjei also said that his lawyers were not given the chance to cross-examine the witnesses and also he was not made to answer certain findings made by the commission in its work.
He noted that CHRAJ made “several site trips to several locations to gather evidence which it relied on to arrive at their decision.”
But the PPA boss maintained that he was not present at any of the site trips nor was he given the chance to cross-examine the evidence gathered.
“By denying me the opportunity to access, respond and cross-examine statements, witnesses and evidence that the respondents relied on to arrive at their decision, the [CHRAJ] acted in breach of natural justice and failed to give me a fair hearing.
“If given the chance to access, respond and cross-examine the various documents, witnesses and evidence relied on by [CHRAJ] in their report, I would,” he added.
Mr Adjei had his appointment terminated on Friday, October 30, 2020. This was communicated via a letter signed by the Director of Communications at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin.
Additionally, Mr Adjei has been disqualified from holding any public office for the next five years.
It will be recalled that President Nana Akufo-Addo had suspended Mr Adjei on August 22, 2019, after he was implicated in a corruption exposé titled ‘Contracts for Sale’, undertaken by theghanareport.com’s Manasseh Azure Awuni.
President Akufo-Addo further referred the matter to CHRAJ and the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
The latest development was the outcome of the report, which was signed by the CHRAJ Boss, Joseph Whittal.
In the documentary, a company known as Talent Discovery Limited (TDL), owned by Mr Adjei, was found to be getting many government contracts through restrictive tendering.
These contracts were then sold for huge sums of monies to the highest bidder, and the proceeds went into the pockets of the culprit.
After months of investigations, CHRAJ stated in its report dated October 27, 2020, that Mr Adjei “put himself in several positions where his personal, relational and pecuniary interest in TDL and other companies actually conflicted with the performance of the functions of his office as CEO and Board Member of PPA. The Commission holds that the Respondent [Mr. Adjei] has contravened article 284 of the 1992 Constitution”.
“The Respondent, being the CEO of PPA, the Regulator of the procurement
sector, the Commission is of the strong and considered view that he has
gravely abused his high office of trust, and the appropriateness and
proportionality of any action to be taken by the Commission must be
commensurate with the gravity of the abuse,” the report added.
Key findings by CHRAJ
The following constitute the key findings of the investigation:
• Talent Discovery Limited (TDL) was incorporated on 19 June 2017, three
months after the Respondent was appointed CEO of PPA in March 2017,
by the Respondent and his brother-in-law Francis Kwaku Arhin, the
Respondent being the majority shareholder. The Respondent is both a
director and shareholder of TDL and Francis Arhin, Respondent’s
brother-in-law, is a director, shareholder, and CEO of TDL. In effect, the
Respondent has personal interest in TDL (financial and relational).
• Although the Respondent claimed that he had resigned as director of
TDL by reason of letter dated 5th September, 2017 addressed to the CEO
and Company Secretary of TDL, all the relevant official records of the
company showed that he remained a director of TDL at all material
times, and that his purported resignation letter had no probative value
whatsoever.
• The evidence supports the allegation that TDL participated in a number
of restricted tenders, which applications came before the Respondent in
his capacity as CEO of PPA and member of the Board of PPA for
approval. TDL was awarded 10 contracts through restricted tender
between June 2017 and 22 August 2019. However, the evidence did not
support the allegation of award of contracts through sole sourcing.
• The Respondent participated in the decision-making process on
restricted tender applications that had TDL shortlisted without
disclosing his private capacity (financial and relational) interest in the
Page 182 of 188 company or recusing himself, except on one occasion, in violation of the Board’s resolution on the matter and Article 284 of the Constitution.
• The evidence further showed that the Respondent, on at least two
occasions used his office as CEO of PPA improperly by altering the decision of the Board to the benefit of TDL, a company in which he has
personal (financial and relational) interest.
• Officials of TDL (Thomas Amoah, Administrative Manager, who is also
sometimes described as General Manager, Project Manager or Group
Manager, and Abigail, the Office Secretary), the company in which the
Respondent is majority shareholder and director, were clearly seen and
heard in the documentary offering to sell contracts awarded to TDL by
public procurement entities through restricted tender.
The evidence also established a pattern of movement of large volumes
of cash through the Respondent’s Bank Accounts between March 2017
and August 2019, far in excess of his known income (Stanbic Bank: USD
Account – $516,225.00; Cedi Account – GH₵3.83 million; Euro Account –
EU54.500; UMB Bank: $110,000). The Respondent could not offer
satisfactory explanation to the source of that huge volume of cash that
passed through his bank account between March 2017 and August 2019
(unexplained wealth).
• The totality of the evidence showed that the Respondent had put
himself in a position where his personal interest (financial and
relational) conflicted with the performance of the functions of his office
as CEO and Board Member of PPA.
Below is the writ