The company, which is owned by Ghanaian actress and TV Host, Selassie Ibrahim, was last year asked to refund GHS1.5 million to the state, after it emerged that the company had overpriced the branding of some 116 Metro Mass Transit Buses.
This has left Minority MPs wondering why the same company should be involved in another $92m dollar National Electrification Project which is believed to have been overpriced.
Smartty’s Company Limited is the local representative of a Chinese company, Hunan Construction and Engineering Group in the 92 million dollar loan facility for the electrification project.
Parliament on Monday approved the loan facility for the project that would see several communities connected onto the national grid.
This is in spite of several objections raised by the minority in parliament.
The project will provide around 556 towns and villages with electricity in Volta, Eastern and Northern regions of Ghana.The Chinese firm is expected to supply and erect electrical structures and equipment for the beneficiary communities.
Contributing to the debate on the $92 million contract before parliament, the Minority leader Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu said “Mr Speaker, the issue about due diligence by Crown Agents, it’s made some savings for us as a nation. I have always insisted that this house should also be able to engage consultants when such matters come before us, so that we will be able to compare. It shouldn’t always be that the executive will bring documents to us, due diligence done on their documentation by their chosen agents, and then parliament swallows whatever comes from them from the authority that might have conducted the due diligence …Mr Speaker, it doesn’t help Ghana and it’s also being made to appear as if Crown Agents have a monopoly in the conduct of due diligence in the country.“Mr Speaker, it shouldn’t be like that, and if the executive have opted to go under that umbrella, parliament should not do that, so, at least, we are able to compare. Otherwise, Mr Speaker, if we should take whatever comes from Crown Agents, this nation will be short-changed.”
On his part, the Ranking Member of the Finance Committee, Dr Anthony Akoto Osei, said Smarttys involvement in the latest contract is unacceptable.
“Mr Speaker, the point I want to make is that it is prudent for the committee to work this out that one of the major parties in this contract is Smarttys…Members of Parliament should be honest with us…Mr Speaker, Smarttys is the local representative for the company and the person sat in the negotiations.“[A] company that has been found to have overblown us almost $1 million in bus branding, for the house to be able to make an informed decision, it was prudent for the committee to have reminded us …it is not a secret, it is not only fair to the company, but it is also fair to the house …Mr Speaker, if the World Bank finds out that a contractor in Ghana called Mathew Opoku Prempeh has abused the procurement process in Ghana, that contractor is banned from World Bank projects all over the world for five years,” he added.
However, the Majority members of the house have insisted that due diligence was made in the new contract, adding that there was no wrongdoing in involving Smarttys in the latest contract.
“By the time this contract was negotiated, the Smarttys issue was a non-issue. It had not arisen, unless of course you want us to take retrospective action, which is contrary to the constitution of Ghana…it is Crown Agents’ position that VFM assessment could not commence until a complete submission had been received.“However, for the following reason CAGL made an exception for this contract and prepared a preliminary VFM assessment report. And at the Committee, Mr Speaker, this issue was dealt with extensively. We made it clear that the 22.7 was a preliminary figure," Minister for Roads and Transport, Inusah Fuseini told Parliament.
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