The Sports Minister has called the bluff of businessman Magnus Rex Danquah who has served notice he will sue the government to recover over $525,000 owed him for preparing Ghana’s 2017 Africa Cup of Nations hosting bid documents. 

According to the Auditor General’s report, RICS Consult belonging to Rex Danquah was sole-sourced for the preparation of the document.

The report stated that sole sourcing such a contract was in violation of Section 40 of the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663) which requires procurement entities to seek approval from the Public Procurement Authority before they engage in single source procurement, and should have also signed an official document.

And Sports Minister, Isaac Asiamah has told the Public Accounts Committee that his office will not pay the supposed consultancy fee. 

“Since there is no existing contract between the Ministry and RICS Consult which my accountant has testified, then there is no way we are going to pay the said amount. For all, we know we are have already settled $125,000 and that is all we are going to pay,” Asiamah told the committee Tuesday.

But, Rex Danquah says he will go to the courts to seek interpretation over the Sports Ministry’s decision not to pay the amount.

“We delivered on what we were expected to do,” Mr Danquah said, adding “we had a meeting with the then Chief Director and it was agreed that my company should discount the debt because we did not win the bid and we discounted the debt and minutes of that meeting is available.”

“So for me…to be told that there was no contract when the people themselves admit and accepted that the spirit of the work was done because all these things we used the money to do it…I think it’s a subject for the court,” he added.

Ghana lost the bid to Gabon.