Opare Writes: Letter To Albert Kan Dapaah -UNIPASS Implementation Challenges, Work Of Some Underhand That Requires Your Attention

Dear Sir, as I always do when it comes to writing a letter, I am supposed to use this paragraph to greet and check on you first, before anything, but the dire nature of the issues I am about to brief you on impels me to go straight to the point.

I am beseeching your office via this open letter to draw your consciousness to some acts of subversions against the State that are going on. The perpetuators of these Sabotage against the Government have use continuous and persistent bedaub tactics against UNIPASS – ICUMS from the onset to the implementation stage that we find ourselves, as a tool to achieve their malevolent motives against the ICUMS.

Sir, to educate you small, the UNIPASS system was brought in by Government to integrate all the various solutions that were provided by the immediate past vendors onto a one solution with more advance and enhance features that supersedes the previous solutions. The most significant addition that comes with the UNIPASS- ICUMS is the end-to-end (e2e) solution – a function that was eluded in the immediate past solutions, one of the economic benefit of the UNIPASS-ICUMS is that, it is going to increase the country’s revenue generation at the ports by 30%. Sir, let me not waste your time by explaining further about the unique technological composition and the numerous advantages of the ICUMS, because they are too good to make you read them all day.

To the substantive issue, from 2018 when Government decided to contract Ghana Link to come up with an all-in-one advance e - port administration system that offers an end-to-end solution, an unprecedented media attack was initiated against the Government, some Ministers of State as well as Ghana Link Network Services Limited.

The stressed point of these calculated media attacks about the matter then, was that, Government had award the contract to Ghana Link through sole –sourcing, hence the discontentment of these saboteurs. Sir granted that the Government used sole –sourcing to give the contract to Ghana Link, this clearly shouldn’t be or have been a news at all since the sole-sourcing principle of procurement doesn’t defy our procurement laws. Moreover it is an open knowledge that West Blue Consulting benefited from the same sole-sourcing in 2015 to get the nod to implement their Single Window at the expense of their competitors, even though some had started piloting a Single Window solution. What I recall was that, some mindful Ghanaians who were disgruntled about the issue took the case to court for legal remedy.

My questions here is that – What prevents’ Ghana Link from benefiting from the same sole-sourcing West Blue Consulting benefited from yesterday? , Why the unmeritorious trolling of Government through targeted media campaigns for using sole-sourcing to contract Ghana Link? Why the dirty press about Ghana Link and their UNIPASS – ICUMS solution? Why the instigating criticisms against Government for not bleaching any procurement law?

Sir after the sole- sourcing argument had failed because it was full of holes like Swiss cheese and could not hold water, the smear tactics of these saboteurs changed to – Ghana Link has no solution to provide and lacks the capacity to roll out a Single Window. When Ghana Link I believed was designing and developing their ICUMS solution with their international partners, their competitors, some think-tanks and some stake holders were busily piling – up falsehoods and phoney allegations to prepare the space for the UNIPASS - ICUMS solution to face future mass ridiculing and rejection.

Just after Ghana Link had successfully demonstrated their ICUMS platform to the Economic Management Team to prove Government right and to prove those who alleged that they did not have the capacity to build the system wrong. The media slandering were changed again, this time around, serious allegations were made against Ghana Link that;

The Government of Sierra Leone had terminated their contract for failing to roll out a Single Window solution they were contracted to implement and also for indulging in some act of financial crookedness.

In response to these allegations Ghana Link released official statement, stating that they had never been contracted to implement a Single Window in Sierra Leone before, but rather their affiliate company – Africa Link Inspection Company was rather contracted to deploy a destination inspection scheme and not even the Single Window solution as purported by these despoilers. Upon this official explanation backed by official records from Ghana Link to debunk these fevered allegations, the crusaders of the mission to tarnish the image of Ghana Link still persisted with their menacing media attacks.

Sir the questions that needs the attention of your outfit here are; Why the misrepresentation of Africa Link Inspection Company to be Ghana Link Network Services Limited?, Why are some people misinforming us that Africa Link Inspection Company was contracted to deploy a Single Window solution in Sierra Leone, which isn’t the case?, Why the forceful claims that Ghana Link had been in Sierra Leone with UNI-PASS - ICUMS, which they haven’t?

After all these one sided and unsubstantiated allegations against the Government for contracting Ghana Link to deploy an end-to-end Single Window solution and against Ghana Link for lacking the expertise to deliver Single Window solution, the rolling- out stage of the system commenced at some selected border posts and from credible media sources, the solution was successfully deployed and piloted at these selected areas.

When the ICUMS was about to reach the main implementation stage, by going live at the Takoradi Harbor and subsequently at Tema port, the work of these underhand agents against the system clearly manifested. Competitive opponents who felt bitter for losing out to Ghana Link started to defy various Government directives that sought to have ensured a smooth transition. Some major stakeholder who matters in the trade facilitation cycle also join the fray of these saboteurs to resist various Government directives in order to cause chaos during the implementation of the new system.

The confidence tricking strategy used by those against the government and the system makes it quite difficult to see the element of subversion against the State, in the sense that, their strategies are mostly executed by their proxies in the media, thin-tanks, clearing agents, freight forwarders and politicians. These proxies use frivolous allegations against Ghana Link, maligning of government officials who spearheaded the deal, inciting of stakeholders against the system and government officials, as well as fueling disaffection among government officials through the use of hoax petitions.

To give you a clear picture of things that had happen to impede the smooth roll-out of the ICUMS, let me again ask these few questions;

Why did some terminal operators failed to hook unto the new ICUMS platform when government had instructed them to do so? , Why did existing vendors delayed in submitting the terms of transition to government? , Why were some clearing agents adamant in availing themselves for training? , Why the abrupt disengagement by existing vendors? Why the skewed analysis against the ICUMS by some individuals? , Why the intransigent behavior of some stakeholders after ICUMS fully took over? , The questions goes on and on – these few ones are just to give you a more clue about the matter.

Sir, the act of subversion against the State that I see in these matter are that;

When people secretly indulge in smear tactics against the Government for legally awarding a contract it undermines the credibility of the Government to its citizens, When companies wantonly defy Government directives geared towards achieving a particular goal (smooth transition) it retards Government developmental policies, When people falsely claimed that Government had engage a company that had wallow in financial malfeasance in another country it really erodes the integrity of the Government and to make my case of subversion obvious, when some stakeholders at the port decided to hoot at Government delegation that visited the port to inspect the implementation process without allowing proper interactions – it is really serious because, clearly these acts will be deem everywhere as very subversive.

Sir, In conclusion – The gushing twisting of allegations against Ghana Link (ICUMS) and some government officials with the ultimate aim to coerce Government to nix an initiative that will bring a tremendous change to the country’s trade facilitation space has become so obvious and at the same time troubling–

Recently these saboteurs changed their mouth again, by telling Ghanaians that, they are not against the ICUMS because they have come to realize that the system is good but they want Government to consider allowing the immediate past solutions to continue running alongside the ICUMS to ensure smooth transition, granted this request is done, then what will be the essence of Government decision to go in for ICUMS to eliminate the multiplicity of non - interoperable Single Windows at our ports? besides government had earlier granted this request for a whole month.

Sir judging from the account of all these happenings, everything shows clearly that some underhand operations are working to frustrate the smooth implementation of the ICUMS. To avert this to be achieve, in order to protect the government integrity – then the time has come for you to sanction the agencies under your ministry to act before it becomes too late!

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The views in this article is personal and belongs solely to me.

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