Bus Branding Saga: We�ll Demand Full Abrogation Of Contract � Occupyghana

Pressure group OccupyGhana Movement says it will demand full abrogation of the contract between Government of Ghana and Smartys Company Limited in the controversial GH¢3.6 million bus branding saga.

According to the pressure group, it will demand a full restitution of every pesewa to the people of Ghana because fraud has vitiated the contract, adding that if government fails, the group will go to court and plead that the court set it aside and ask for full restitution for the people of Ghana.

Government’s decision to spend the whopping amount of Ghana’s oil revenue on re-branding some 116 Metro Mass Transit (MMT) buses has been intensely criticized by many Ghanaians.

The scandal, which has compelled the Transport Minister, Dzifa Attivor to resign, comes at a time when the country is battling with some economic challenges.

Although a report on investigations into the scandal commissioned by the Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, has been presented, details of it have not been made public yet.

On April 13, the Human Rights Court gave its ruling in a controversial case brought by some members of OccupyGhana demanding full disclosure of government’s contract with Smarttys Production over the branded Metro Mass buses to them.

Justice Anthony Yeboah ordered the A-G, who was one of the respondents, to give all the documents on the bus branding except documents regarding trade secrets, and national defence to the group.

The Minister of Justice and Attorney-General (A-G) handed over all the documents but refused to hand over to the group the report she delivered to the Chief of Staff after her initial investigations to uncover the bus branding saga on the ground that it is “confidential and privileged”.

Speaking on Joy FM’s News analysis show Saturday, Leading Member of OccupyGhana Movement, Ace Ankomah stated that his group intends to contest the Attorney General on that report, because they believe that, that report shows that the Attorney General did a great job and actually recommended the prosecution of the principal actors in this matter.

“That report we believe contains information about the actual source of money that were wrongfully paid to Smartys. We believe these are the matters which the government does not want Ghanaians to know and that are why they are hiding under the rubric of confidentiality and privilege. And so we fully intend to contest that.

“We are fully convinced that the AG did a fantastic job, no Lawyer who sees the documents we’ve seen who have arrived at a different conclusion. The documents are wholly incriminating, it shows how we engaged in lies and corrupt practices just to give out this contract which was overpriced and was given to an entity without competition on the basis of public officials telling lies.”