ASHANTI REGION NPP CHAIRMAN AWARDED US$45 MILLION COCOA ROADS CONTRACT WEEKS TO ELECTION 2020

  PREZ. AKUFO-ADDO, Chairman Wontumi 
Documents emanating from government circles reveal the AshantiRegional chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has been awarded a juicycontract valued at US$45 million by the COCOBOD to construct roads in cocoagrowing areas in the country.

Records from COCOBOD show that Bernard Antwi-Boasiako popularlyknown as "Chairman Wontumi" got the contract through his company; Hallmark Civil Engineering (HCE).

It is unclear if Hallmark Civil Engineering (HCE), hasregistration number CS040052018 and has civil and road construction as thenature of its business, went through a competitive bidding process to land thejob.

But the amount has been described as very outrageous because theroads to be constructed are not asphalt roads but bitumen roads which are less expensive.

Players in the road construction business have described the dealas a total rip-off of the taxpayer by politicians.

They were of the view thatif the contract was genuinely awarded, it should not have gone beyond US$10million. Interestingly information available to The Herald is that asidefrom Hallmark Civil Engineering, "Chairman Wontumi" uses two other companies tocream government contracts from the COCOBOD.

His companies are promptly paid bythe management of the board led by JosephBoahen Aidoo.

It is not clear how many other NPP regional chairmen are getting suchjobs from the Akufo-Addo government.

Per the COCOBOD document, the contract was awarded about threeweeks ago; specifically on November 12, 2020.

On the Hallmark Civil Engineering, additional documents from theRegistrar General's Department strangely shows that the company was only registeredin February 2018 and might not have executed a project of this nature, hencehas no track record.

Mr Boasiako, according to the document, is the Managing Director(MD) of Hallmark Civil Engineering. The loud-mouth politician is expected torehabilitate, upgrade, reconstruct in the areas listed in the contract.

The government said the contract must be executed in 24 months'time. Hallmark Civil Engineering will be expected to complete the constructionof the Dadieso-Akontombra road (km. 4.00-26. 30) Awaso- Asawnso (Babiani Jn) inthe Western North Region.

The contract document addressed to Mr Boasiako read "We arepleased to inform you that Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has approved the awardof contract for the construction Dadieso-Akontombra road (km. 4.00-26. 30)Awaso- Asawnso (Babiani Jn) in the Western North Region to your company".

It went on to specify the terms and condition of the contractsaying "You are required to sign a contract agreement upon submission of aPerformance Bond Security for Ten percent (10%) of the contract price issued bya reputable Bank or Thirty percent (30%) of the contract price issued by areputable insurance company registered with National Insurance Commission andacceptable by to COCOBOD.

Failure to submit the performance security within Twenty-One (21)days from the date of the letter shall constitute sufficient grounds for theannulment of the award of contract".

Directors for Hallmark Civil Engineering are BernardAntwi-Boasiako and Doris Quainoo with their Tax Identification Number given asP0000792810 and P0007705735 respectively.

The company's secretary details were given as Constance Wiafe TINas P0001150243 while auditor is Eddie Nikoi who is into Accounting ConsultancyC0002435365.

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