AG served on PPA board while as secretary of National Cathedral awarded 'conflict of interest' contracts to Sir Adjaye — Ablakwa

The Member of Parliament for the North Tongu constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has alleged that the Attorney General was made secretary to the private company that owns the National Cathedral.

He said while serving on the board of the Public Procurement Authority Godfred Dame awarded contracts to Sir David Adjaye.

In an interview on TV3's “New Day” he noted that the entire process was a conflict of interest as the AG was part of a board that approved the sole sourcing contract on the National Cathedral architectural plan to Sir David Adjaye.

“Guess what, in 2019, Godfred Dame was a member of the PPA board and our further digging reveals that he did not recuse himself when Sir David Adjaye was being awarded all of these colossal sums of money in the name of sole sourced contracts. When you read the PPA letter that we revealed yesterday signed by the disgraced AB Adjei who is being prosecuted now by the Special Prosecutor you realize that in that letter, they make the most outrageous, outlandish justification for granting Sir David Adjare this sole source contract,” he intimated.

He added “They are saying that they are granting Sir David Adjare the sole source contract by virtue of the Public Procurement Act 2003 Act 663 section 72 5b. Section 72 5(b) says that ‘the procurement entity may select consultant by inviting proposals from a single consultant where there is, ‘b’ says an emergency as certified in section 40 1(b) and (c). Section 40 1 (b) and (c) provides 1. A procurement agency may engage in single sole procurement under section 41 under the approval of the board. ‘B’ says where there is an urgent need for the goods, works or services and engaging in tender proceedings or any other method of procurement is impractical due to unforeseeable circumstances giving rise to the urgency, which is not the result of directory conduct on the part of the procurement entity. ‘c’ where owing to a catastrophic event there is an urgent need for the goods, works or technical services making it impractical to use other methods of procurement because of the time involved in using these methods.”

He continued “flagrant contravention, this doesn’t apply. There was no emergency, there was no catastrophe when they were awarding this contract in 2018, 2019, no emergency, no pandemic, Covid had come later, 2020. He wasn’t coming to design some hospital for us, it was the National Cathedral so it cannot apply. This was the Deputy Attorney General in a clear conflict of interest he is here as secretary to this private entity called the National Cathedral then he is positioned on the PPA board to be granting these illegal approvals, approvals that sin against the law.”