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Ghana: CJA Petitions CHRAJ to Probe School Feeding Programme
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Public Agenda (Accra)
9 May 2008
Posted to the web 9 May 2008
Selorm Amevor
The leadership of the Committee for Joint Action (CJA) has petitioned the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to investigate the management and affairs of the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP).
The petitioners include Mr. Kwesi Pratt Junior, Mr. Samuel Okudjeto Ablakwa, Mr. Ato Ahwoi and Alhaji Ramadan who contend that there have been serious cases of maladministration, official malfeasance and other improprieties at the secretariat.
Deleric law consult, a legal firm based in Accra filed the petition on behalf of the CJA, alleging that maladministration , official malfeasance and other improprieties have been committed by public officials appointed by the government of Ghana.
According to them, the officials appointed by government have occasionally breached their duty to the state and led to threat to the life and health of citizens of Ghana in addition to the misuse of public funds.
The Petitioners indicated that their conclusions are based on the report of an audit carried out by a reputable firm of auditors, PriceWaterhouseCoopers which recommended that further investigations be carried out on the activities of the GSFP.
It will be recalled that the CJA in the middle of last month at a press conference demanded an independent public inquiry into the activities of the School Feeding Programme (SFP), since the scheme was wallowing in corruption, maladministration, nepotism and patronage.
The CJA called for the dismissal of the Executive Chairman of the SFP for ineptitude and the prosecution of personnel who have committed criminal offences.
The group claimed that a PriceWaterhouseCoopers' audit report into the activities of the SFP for 2006 reveals a litany of irregularities and discrepancies. The CJA said the report disclosed that a staggering ¢ 5,770,915,218 billion cedis was paid for supplies by the end of December 2006 to seven companies which had no business registration records as the time of the audit in 2007.
The companies include the Supernatural Ventures, Danviryl Enterprise, F&A Investments, Wendy Rose Enterprise, Maami Leak Enterprise, Royal Choice and Chakan Enterprise.
"The revelation is that these companies were selected although they had no track record of engaging in similar activities as required under our procurement laws," said the CJA.
The Report, according to the CJA, also cites a total amount of ¢363,549,000 million that had not been received in 10 districts although the SFP Secretariat claimed to have transferred the monies. Examples of the districts include Wenchi in the Brong Ahafo, Keta and North Tongu in the Volta Region.
Besides, the report says on January 2, 2006, a company called Dekoon Ventures expressed interest to supply kitchen inputs to the SFP. It says, as at January 16, 2006 when the Secretariat gave approval to Dekoon Ventures to submit quotations it was not a registered company and was not incorporated until January 20, 2006. " This means that [as at the time] it was being invited to submit quotations; this company was not a legal entity as required under the Public Procurement Act 2003, " the CJA observes.
The audit report, the CJA further claims, also exposes cases of contracts awarded without following the due process in accordance with the Public Procurement Act 2003. It cites instances of inadequate vetting of tenderers; caterers selected without due procedure and forged signatures.
"There is the case in Kumasi where the signature of the Director of Monitoring and Evaluation had been forged on the appointment letters of caterers of Asokwa and Asawase Cluster of schools," the CJA revealed as a case in point.
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The CJA also mentions an incident where the SFP allegedly served pupils in five regions with food prepared with unwholesome tomato paste supplied by Afrique Link. "It is especially sickening that in several cases, it was not possible to ascertain the expiry dates of tomato paste since they had been painted over to conceal the expiry dates." It said that in spite of this pernicious act, Afrique Link was paid more than ¢2 billion for the deal.
"Who are the owners of this company who, for the sake of money, provided unwholesome food to the vulnerable little school children?" quizzes the CJA, which adds that the magnitude of maladministration in the SFG could only be properly described "as a blot on the landscape of good governance."
According to the CJA, a consideration of the audit report leaves no one in doubt that the programme is being run in "an unbelievably amateurish manner". It enumerates examples to buttress its claim: absence of procurement plan for the 2006; discrepancies between figures in payroll and personnel records; no invoices to cover purchases; failure to sign contracts with contractors; irregularities in the payment of cooks; school children fed on less than 3000 cedis in contravention of SFP requirement, among others.
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