The Executive Director for African Education Watch, Dr Kofi Asare has asserted that the Ministry of Education has not learnt from previous happenings especially the bitter ones.
According to Kofi Asare, the bitter Blue Grass Ltd calculator deal, which was to supply over 800,000 pieces of KAPEK Scientific Calculators for 2020 WASSCE at the cost of GH¢ 63 million, was supposed to have been a lesson to the Ministry but it doesn’t look like it is because a similar incident is looming with the Tanit Limited.
He said “If we do not depart from the culture of single or sole source procurement, we shall be in this cyclical IMF marriage forever, as it constitutes a major drain on the tax cedi. No serious country borrows to spend this way. Tanit Ltd must refund the GHC 850k quick. That cash can build two JHS for two underserved communities in the north. Any further delays will attract an interest. “
The Educationist concluded by adding that as a country we have made progress and therefore we have advanced from the ‘what should we do’ stage of our development journey and we are now at the ‘will we do it’? Stage.
Read Kofi Asare’s full statement below.
Tanit Ltd is evidence that the Ministry of Education (MoE) did not learn from the bitter Blue Grass Calculator deal. Maybe it was only bitter to the tax payer.
In 2020, the MoE through another controversial Single/Sole Sourced procurement method picked Blue Grass Ltd to supply over 800,000 pieces KAPEK Scientific Calculators for 2020 WASSCE at the cost of GHC 63 million.
For some strange reason, MoE decided to procure through this ‘unknown’ company while the KAPEK manufacturers themselves sat in Dubai and London.
Eduwatch raised serious value for money issues about the arrangement, as the price of the same product was cheaper on the streets of Liberia compared to our bulk purchase.
The MoE didn’t just ignore our advice, but as usual, denied Eduwatch a copy of the contract for our review, after we wrote officially. Why won’t such contracts be a secret?
Unsurprisingly, similar to Tanit Ltd, this company failed to deliver according to the contract. In the final analysis, the MoE was compelled to abrogate the contract after Blue Grass Ltd supplied only half.
The only benefit of Single-or Sole/Sourced procurement in Ghana is political, as politically connected companies get juicy contracts. It confers no economy benefit to the state.
According to a Danquah Institute report of 2016, Single and Sole Source procurement could cost the nation 65% more, compared to competitive procurement.
While the President’s Ghana Beyond Aid agenda prescribes competitive procurement, it finds little or no expression in practice. The opposite is the norm.
If we do not depart from the culture of single or sole source procurement, we shall be in this cyclical IMF marriage forever, as it constitutes a major drain on the tax cedi. No serious country borrows to spend this way.
Tanit Ltd must refund the GHC 850k quick. That cash can build two JHS for two underserved communities in the north. Any further delays will attract an interest.
Sadly, as i type at 3:45 am, i am pretty sure another sole/single source deal is being hatched.
As i keep saying, we have advanced from the ‘what should we do’ stage of our development journey. We are now at ‘will we do it’? Anyone who suggests the former is disingenuous.
May God strengthen us not to give up on our leaders; and may our leaders truly lead, not rule.
SOURCE: Coverghana.com.gh
