The Minority in Parliament is demanding the confiscation of the former Chief Executive Officer of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), Adjenim Boateng Adjei’s income and assets found to have been acquired in the line of duty.
Mr. Adjei was dismissed by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Friday, October 30, 2020, based on the findings of the Commission of Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) that found him guilty of conflict of interest in the performance of his duties at the PPA.
The Deputy Minority Leader, James Klutse Avedzi believes such an action will deter other public officials who intend to commit acts of corruption.
“I think that whatever income or resources he gathered from these activities should be taken away from him. Definitely, he must sell some of the contracts and make some money and so if the findings reveal that this is the amount of money he made from the back deal, the money should be confiscated by the state and should be banned from public service completely. Once the monies he made from this dubious action is confiscated, it will serve as a deterrent to others.”
Speaking to the press in Parliament on November 2, 2020, James Avedzi also described the five-year ban from public office placed on A.B. Adjei as inadequate.
Mr. Adjei was suspended by the President in August 2019 following a documentary released by freelance journalist, Manasseh Awuni Azure.
Adjenim Boateng’s offence
In the documentary, a company, owned by Mr. Adjenim Adjei, TDL, was found to be securing many government contracts through restrictive tendering and selling those contracts to others for profit.
The President referred the corruption and conflict interest aspects of the case to the Office of the Special Prosecutor and CHRAJ respectively.
CHRAJ’s findings
The Commission said in its report that it found overwhelming evidence to show that Mr. Adjei “put himself in several positions where his personal, relational, and pecuniary interest in TDL and other companies actually conflicted with the performance of the functions of his office as CEO and Board Member of PPA.”
The Commission further said it analyzed data provided by the Financial Intelligence Centre and found total transactions during the period within which Mr. Adjei assumed office at GHS 14.8 million.
The said amount is a total sum of monies from Mr. Adjei’s four Dollar and Euro accounts held at two banks.
