State Prosecutors call Manasseh Azure Awuni as first witness in trial of former PPA boss

State prosecutors on Tuesday called their first witness, Manasseh Azure Awuni, in the trial of the former Public Procurement Authority (PPA) CEO, Adjenim Boateng Adjei.

Mr Boateng Adjei and his brother-in-law, Francis Arhin, have been before the Criminal Division of the Accra High Court over procurement breaches.

The two, Adjenim Boateng Adjei and Frank Kwaku Arhin, have been charged by the Office of the Special Prosecutor with 18 counts of using public office for their personal gains.

Mr Awuni tendered in his witness statement to be adopted as his evidence in chief, but the court could not adopt the statement because some of the documents attached to it were not legible enough.

The court, therefore, gave the Office of the Special Prosecutor an opportunity to present new documents that are legible enough. The case was adjourned to December 13, 2022, for continuation.

Adjenim Boateng Adjei and Frank Kwaku Arhin have been charged by the Office of the Special Prosecutor with 18 counts of using public office for their personal gains.

Facts of the Case

Three months after his appointment as the CEO of the Public Procurement Authority, Adjeinim Boateng Adjei allegedly established Talent Discovery Limited as a majority shareholder and director.

The company allegedly took part in various restricted tenders organized by some government agencies.

According to the Special Prosecutor, the former PPA boss improperly and unlawfully conducted and participated in tendering processes in awarding government contracts to Talent Discovery Limited without disclosing that he was a major shareholder of the company.

He has been charged with eight counts of using public office for profit and another nine counts of directly and indirectly influencing the procurement processes to obtain an unfair advantage in the award of a procurement contract.

The second accused person, Francis Kwaku Arhin, has also been charged with one count of using public office for profit.

 President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on August 22, 2019, suspended Adjenim Boateng Adjei from office, following allegations made against him in a publication by investigative journalist, Manasseh Azure Awuni, titled “Contracts for Sale.”

The president subsequently referred the allegations involving conflict of interest to the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), and those relating to potential acts of corruption to the Office of Special Prosecutor, for prosecution.

It was based on recommendations from the CHRAJ’s report that Mr Boateng Adjei was sacked from office on October 31, 2019.

Per the CHRAJ report, the accused person’s accounts since assuming office in 2017 stood at GH₵14.8 million from his four Dollar and Euro accounts held at two banks.

According to CHRAJ, Mr Adjei could not satisfactorily explain the source of the large volumes of excess wealth that passed through his bank accounts between March 2017 and August 2019.

CHRAJ after investigations found him guilty of a conflict of interest in the performance of his duties after sidestepping procurement procedures for personal gains.

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