Peacefmonline.com has chanced upon a document of agreement between the Central Bank and a private company, Sibton Switch Systems Ltd, for the execution of Ghana Retail Payment System Infrastructure.
A few years ago, the Regulator requested for tenders from prospective private corporate entities to "exclusively build, own and operate" the Ghana Retail Payment System as an interoperable and integrated mobile and electronic payment clearing and settlement system.
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) subsequently contracted Sibton Switch Systems Ltd a subsidiary of Sibton Communications to act as the switch for the cross-network mobile money transactions, with additional cost implications for both consumers and the telcos.
The company was given a GHc 4.6 billion contract for the project.
The agreement between the Regulator, Bank of Ghana and Operator, Sibton Switch Systems Ltd, came into effect on Wednesday, August 24, 2016.
But in January 2017, the issue of mobile money interoperability came to the fore after some telecom operators kicked against moves by the central bank to impose on them a third-party company to implement the interoperability by petitioning the Presidency.
It turned out that the company’s GHc 4.6 billion price tag was the most expensive among the companies that bid for the project.
Tender documents stumbled upon indicated that while the Sibton Switch Systems’ bid amounted to GHc 4.6 billion, two bids in the contract were quoted as GHc 14 million and GHc 5.4 million from Vals Intel Limited and Mericom Solutions Limited respectively.
The Sibtons Switch deal was later abandoned and the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS) took charge of the project.
Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, at the launch of the first phase of the mobile money interoperability system on May 10, this year, disclosed that the new interoperability system would cost the country less than $4 million, and prayed that this first step “would make Ghana one of the global leaders in the interoperability payments space.”
But on Monday, a former Deputy Governor of the BoG, Dr Johnson Asiama, rebuffed claims that the interoperability contract awarded under the Mahama administration was overpriced.
At a press conference in Accra, Dr Asiama stressed that the new system launched by the Vice-President, is different in scope from the original contract; hence the disparity in the contract.
Interestingly, eventhough he conceded not having seen the scope of the current system launched by the Veep, the former deputy BoG Governor insisted it might not be as comprehensive as was envisaged under the original contract.
“I am out of office and I cannot say what is being done now but if I look at the details and scope of work in the original contract as stated here, it goes far beyond what was launched last week....It is like comparing antelope and an elephant…I am not sure the price will be same…” he said.
The Central Bank awarded the contract at a value of Ghc 4.6billion, but the present administration says the project has been built at $4.5m; which is a far cry from the astonishing figure that the NDC was going to have it done for.
Click the attached link to peruse the entire contract document and financial proposals.
Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana
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These bellyful NDC thugs want to find a way to escape the blame by putting out unwarranted explanations to warrant their savagely cruel stealing the nation’s money. You are exposed and everyone know your bad omen.
what in this document shows you have done some magical journalism. you prooved nothing and yet as usual went to pick details from the lying vice president of all times.
The usual create/loot/share brigade at work. When can the Mahama admin extricate itself from the corruption tag? Everyday new corruption issues come out. Oh Mahama, wadi y3n awu.
ADONGO GETS UP IN THE MORNINGS AND LOOKS AT HIMSELF IN THE MIRROR AND SAYS TO HIMSELF THAT HE IS THE NDC GURU IN FINANCE AND ECONOMICS, YET HE IS STILL STRUGGLING WITH HIS MASTERS DEGREE AT GIMPA. WHERE WAS ADONGO IN THE LAST NDC GOVERNMENT OF JOHN MAHAMA WHEN ALL THIS DUBIOUS SIBTON CONTRACT WAS BEING SIGNED TO DUPE GHANA OF US$1.0 BILLION FOR A PROJECT WHICH COULD BE DONE FOR GH/CEDIS 4.0 MILLION. WHY, NDC?????????? WHY ALL THE STEALIN.G??????? WHY??????????
Foooolish write-up from a maggot infested and jaundiced journalistic mind. How do you say the project was priced at GHC4.6 billion when in fact it was supposed to be pre-financed by the company that won the bid. A sensible and impartial journalist would have double check his/her fact before writing such a one-sided story on sensitive matter such as this. How do you compare an amount paid for 20% of a total project to the full amount envisaged for the complete package? We know you and your masters who used the same method to vary the original drawing of the Tetteh Quarshie Interchange with the excuse that it was over-priced - you and your gullible followers are the reason Tetteh Quarshie Interchange continue to choke with endless traffic. Keep on with your lies that you have been copying from the over-hyped Bawumia who knows next to nothing but only tries to implement what he read from books whether feasible or not.
So what sin did Ghana commit to have such *Tib)nk)so* people as leaders? The major part of that deal has been accomplished for less than 1% of the contract you were party to whilst in office and you have the effrontery to hold a press conference, without the full and posit that the scopes are different so different price tags? If you went to the marked to buy turkey for soup and for the same weight and size, the smoked one was being sold for GHc 100, but the unsmoked GHc 1 and taking time to smoke it would not even cost you more than what you bought, Which of these two would you buy? So why are these people not before the courts for conspiring, defrauding, corrupting the procurement process and other crimes? You would be in prison or dead if you committed this atrocity in China. And what would our corrupt judges say? This one can buy cows and goats so would not be surprised he would be left off whilst another who steals GHc 200,000 would be sentenced to 20 years in jail. If government had not changed, all this money would have gone down the drain.
Oyiwa