Cecilia Abena Dapaah, the former Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, has found herself at the center of a financial controversy.
According to private legal practitioner Martin Luther Kpebu, Dapaah awarded a contract that has resulted in significant financial loss to the state.
The contract in question was awarded to Aqua Africa Limited in August 2019 for the installation, commissioning, and maintenance of 450 Integrated R1 nano filtration units. The initial contract sum was 30 million euros, with a completion timeline of 18 months. However, the scope of the project was later renegotiated, reducing the number of nano filters to 150 and adding the construction of 12 small towns water supply systems.
Despite making significant payments to the contractor, the project was not executed as agreed upon. The contractor was paid a total of 13,040,397.93 euros but only completed approximately 7.16% of the work. This has raised concerns about the Ministry’s conduct in awarding the contract, with the Attorney-General’s office stating that the Ministry did not exercise due care and diligence.
The Attorney-General at the time, Godfred Yeboah Dame, gave an opinion that the money should be returned to the state, but no further action was taken. Kpebu has questioned why Dame did not initiate legal proceedings to recover the money, especially since the contractor has been paid and is in possession of state funds.
Dapaah’s financial dealings have also been under scrutiny, with the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) investigating her for suspected corruption and money laundering. The OSP had seized assets and cash from Dapaah’s residences, but a court order has since required the OSP to return the seized items.
The case has sparked concerns about government accountability and the management of state funds. Kpebu has assured the public that the issues relating to Dapaah are not over, stating, “We are not done with Cecilia Dapaah at all.”
Source: Apexnewsgh.com
