My hands are clean – Mr Mireku Duker

A former Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for the Tarkwaa-Nsuaem Municipal Assembly (TNMA), Mr. Mireku Duker has told The Chronicle that his hands are clean, regarding the award of the 17b cedi contract to a private company, which has generated a heated debate.

Mr. Mireku-Duker told this re-porter in reaction to an earlier story published by The Chronicle yesterday, over the award of the contract, which has been suspended by Mr. Paul Evans Aidoo, the Regional Minister, that there was no error committed in the award of the said contract under his administration.

The 17 billion cedi contract in question was the building of the office complex for the Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipal Assembly. According to him, the contract was referred to the Regional Review Committee for evaluation knowing very well that the figure involved was huge.

He noted that the review committee had problems with the quotations of the figures, and subsequently put the contract on hold.

The Former MCE therefore asked this reporter to find out from the TNMA Coordinating Director if he was being economical with the truth.

Mr. Mireku argued that the contract was never awarded and that if something to the contrary happened, then the regional review committee must be made to answer.

He admitted that he was not technically good in awarding of contracts, and therefore did not involve himself in technical issues regarding the contract.

But the Regional Minister, Mr. Paul Evans Aidoo, who confirmed the award of the contract, and exposed by The Chronicle in its yesterday edition, told numerous radio stations in Takoradi that the Regional Tender Review Committee eventually had to step in to halt tire contract on grounds of procedural error.

The Minister said this when his attention was drawn to the said contract sum, which the TNMA did not have the power to award, and so he studied the whole contract and realized that there was a number of procedural errors. As a result, he advised for the corrections to be done.

But that was not properly done and eventually the Tender Review Board had to suspend the contract in question.

Meanwhile, Wilham, the company said to have been awarded the contract has denied any charge of complicity.

A management source told The Chronicle after our publication yesterday that though they put in the bid in 2008 to construct an office complex for the Municipal assembly at Tarkwa, no official documents or correspondence show that they were awarded the contract as is being alleged by the Regional Minister and the current Municipal Chief Executive.