EOCO summons 15 witnesses over $72m SSNIT faulty software

The Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) has subpoenaed at least 15 witnesses as part of ongoing investigations into the award of $72 million software contract by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT).

SSNIT Director-General, Dr John Ofori-Tenkorang has revealed the anti-graft agency is interrogating the employees regarding the circumstances that led to the issuance of the contract in 2012.

He told Evans Mensah on Joy FM’s Top Story Thursday, he has equally been summoned by EOCO to produce certain documents on the contract.

Sections of Ghanaians are incensed after the sum of a software contract awarded by SSNIT was made public.

The contract was awarded to Perfect Business Solutions Limited for the installation of automation processes at the Trust.

It was to provide superior services to SSNIT customers, reduce member enrolment cycle through forms, provide effective reporting solution, achieve real time processing of contribution reports and reduce benefit processing time.

The initial contract sum was $34 million but within a four-year period it shot up to over $72 million.

Information gathered by Joy News revealed the software supplied was not fit for the purpose.

As a result, an additional $38 million was spent in remodeling the software to suitably deliver to the satisfaction of SSNIT.

Barely a month after the contract was signed and sealed, the Trust made the demand for the supply and installation of two HP machines at the cost of $28,500.

There was also the order for the supply and installation of mobile biometric unit on June, 2014 at the cost of over $2 million.

Many IT experts have said the work performed by Perfect Business Solutions Limited does not correspond to the amount SSNIT paid.

Having inherited the contract from his predecessor, Dr Tenkorang said he has started engaging some of the vendors to ensure the Trust receives the best for the contract.

“I think we have a business to do,” he said, adding he spends his time looking at gaps in the contract execution rather than complaining about the cost.

He said the Trust continues to pay for portions of the contract, which ends in 2019.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Austin Brakopowers | [email protected] | Instagram: @realbrakopowers