By Issah Olegor
The Minority in Parliament has formally petitioned three key state investigative bodies—the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service—to probe what it describes as serious irregularities in the award of a renovation contract tied to the old Bank of Ghana office.
The contract in question, reportedly awarded by the Ghana Gold Board, GoldBod is alleged to have been given to a company linked to the Deputy Chief of Staff in charge of Operations, Stanislav Xoese Dogbe.
The development has sparked concerns within the Minority Caucus, which is demanding an urgent and thorough investigation to determine whether due process was followed and whether the state may have been exposed to potential financial loss.
Addressing journalists after presenting the petitions, Member of Parliament for Odotobri, Anthony Mmieh, indicated that the decision to involve the three institutions was driven by what the Minority describes as “several irregularities” surrounding the procurement process.
According to him, the laws governing public procurement may not have been adhered to, raising questions about transparency, fairness, and legality.
He stressed that the petition is intended to ensure full accountability and to establish the facts surrounding the contract award.
“Our petition simply seeks to have this entire contract investigated so that we can determine what actually transpired, and if there were any breaches, the law must take its course,” he stated.
The Minority further argued that if it is established that proper procurement procedures were bypassed—particularly in relation to sole sourcing or failure to meet documentation requirements—then the contract should be nullified.
They maintain that public contracts must strictly comply with procurement laws to safeguard the public purse.
Mmieh disclosed that all three institutions—the OSP, CHRAJ, and CID—have officially received and acknowledged the petitions, with copies of the acknowledgements in the possession of the Minority.
He expressed confidence that the agencies would act swiftly, noting that much of the relevant information is already in the public domain, which could expedite the investigative process.
“We expect these institutions to hit the ground running immediately,” he said, adding that the Minority anticipates preliminary findings within a short timeframe due to the volume of publicly available information surrounding the matter.
This latest development adds to growing political scrutiny over public sector contracts and the role of politically exposed persons in procurement processes.
In recent years, concerns over sole sourcing, conflict of interest, and weak enforcement of procurement laws have dominated the governance discourse, with repeated calls for stronger oversight and institutional independence.
The outcome of the investigations by the Special Prosecutor, CHRAJ, and the CID is expected to determine whether any laws were breached and what sanctions, if any, may follow.
