A Ghanaian journalist and consumer advocate, Samuel Nii Narku Dowuona, has petitioned the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to freeze and probe a controversial contract awarded by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to Tata Consulting Services from India due to alleged irregularities.
According to a petition filed by Dowuona, the contract, meant to implement an Integrated Tax Administration System (ITAS) for GRA’s Domestic Tax Revenue Division, is fraught with gross irregularities, particularly the processes leading to the award of the contract.
In his petition, Dowuona alleges that the GRA still has an existing contract with Axon Information Systems, a Ghanaian company that successfully developed and manages an ITAS system called the Ghana Integrated Tax Management and Information System (GITMIS), signed in January 2024.
He argues that despite Axon’s proven track record, the GRA, under the leadership of the current Commissioner-General Julie Essiam, signed a new contract with Tata Consulting Services without a competitive procurement process, violating tender protocols.
The petition highlights that Axon Information Systems emerged the best candidate for the contract after a competitive bidding process, which saw KPMG review the tender submissions.
Per the KPMG report, Axon presented the lowest financial proposal and was also one of the highest technical evaluation score of over 80%. However, despite the clear advantage of Axon’s bid, the GRA abruptly cancelled the procurement process in August 2023, citing budget cuts.
Dowuona asserts that within a month of cancelling the procurement process, GRA directly invited Tata to submit a combined technical and financial proposal, effectively bypassing the competitive process on the blind side of other candidates. He argues that this was a calculated move to unfairly award Tata the contract on a single-source basis.
The petition further raises concerns about the secrecy surrounding the contract with Tata Consulting Services. The contract’s existence only became public when GRA officials appeared before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament in June 2024. Dowuona questions the integrity of the procurement process, stating that the GRA Board was not fully aware of the deal at the time it was executed.
Dowuona’s petition requests the Special Prosecutor to therefore investigate the circumstances leading to the award of the contract and freeze its execution. He further asks the OSP to prevent any upfront payments to Tata Consulting Services until the investigation is concluded, citing the ongoing contract with Axon, which remains valid until May 2025. The scandal has raised serious questions about transparency and accountability within the GRA, with many industry observers urging a thorough investigation to uphold the principles of fair procurement in the public sector.
As the petition awaits a response from the OSP, stakeholders are watching closely to see how the case unfolds and what implications it may have for future government contracts in Ghana.
Open Letter to Parliament Meanwhile, Dowuona had earlier written an open letter to the Chairman of the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC), calling his attention to possibly perjury committed by the GRA boss, Julie Essiam when she appeared before the committee in June.
She had claimed the Axon came fourth in the competitive bidding process reviewed by KPMG, which is an absolute untruth. She also said Tata presented the lowest cost of contract, another untruth, as the KPMG review report reveals the two other qualifying bidders had lower prices than Tata.
Per the KPMG report, Axon’s price was US$41 million; that of Atos and Persol was US$61 million, and Tata’s prices was US$69 million, which is the highest. Information making the rounds within GRA has it that the contract might cost Ghana up to US$92 million and not the US$25 million Julie Essiam quoted to Parliament. This is another matter that should be probed to determine its veracity.
Techfocus24 is reliably informed that the PAC Chair, James Klutse Averdzi has asked Julie Essiam to present evidence of her claims before Parliament, but she has since failed to do so.
Meanwhile, the workers of GRA are largely opposed the deal but are unable to stop their boss because of the backing she has from high places. Till date, no one at GRA has seen a copy of the fishy contract, which Julie Essiam is keeping closely to her chest while taking steps to implement its content.
