<<Print>>

Information available to the New Crusading GUIDE reveals that officials of the Brong Ahafo Regional office of the Ghana Water Company Limited in their everyday dealings ignore standard regulations guiding contracts when awarding contracts worth huge sums of the tax payers’ money to private contractors under bizarre circumstances.

This paper’s investigations have revealed that some contracts (withheld) awarded by the water company , did not go  through the appropriate channels as stipulated in the procurement Act that “Every procurement entity is expected to establish an Entity Tender Committee which will ensure that at every stage of the procurement activity, required ion the Act have been followed.

However our checks have revealed that these contracts in question were executed without the work of an Entity Tender Committee.

Meanwhile, an interim report of auditors investigating some contracts from of the water outfit has discovered series of breaches of the Public Procurement Act and other laws.

The abnormalities include, the double releasing of funds of the same projects, transfer of huge sums of money into the company’s development fund without recourse to due process and also the release of funds for non-existent projects and forums.

As a result of these developments and other issues of financial malfeasance workers and members of management are sharply divided over the way forward as the former suspects their superiors are bent on shielding their colleagues who are ostensibly culpable in the matter.

As at press time yesterday this paper learnt that the aggrieved workers were mobilising their front to organise a demonstration for the removal from office of all senior managers who were involved in the matter.

“We want our Chief Manager and his accolytes to step aside for an independent audit to be conducted into the matter. We cannot have a credible investigations if the remain at the helm of affairs. The committee has been put in place by the same people who are supposed to be investigated”

The workers from all level argued that Corruption's debilitating effects are felt across the region, contributing to low productivity and hampering the operations of the company.

Meanwhile the Chief Manager of the company declined comments on the matter and referred our reporters who visited his office in Sunyani to the company’s head of communications in Accra

Although Mr. Stanley Martey Communications Manager of the Company promised to respond to the issues before publication all efforts to reach him yesterday proved futile as he failed to answer calls placed to his phone by our editor.

More Anon