On September 1, 2020, a contract was signed between Ghana Airport Company Limited (GACL) and Frontier Healthcare Services to undertake Covid-19 antigen tests at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).

This single-sourced contract commenced business the day of signing the contract, coinciding with the reopening of KIA after months of shutdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The two-year contract grants Frontier Healthcare Services the exclusive right to provide mandatory Covid-19 testing on passengers on arrival.

According to reports, each passenger was charged $150 per test conducted.

Out of this amount charged, Frontier Health Services, as part of its contract is to pay GACL an amount of $10 per passenger.

This was to cover the cost of renting space at the airport and was to be paid daily.

Also, at the end of the year, Frontiers is expected to pay a total rent of $153,330 to the Ghana Airport Company Limited (GACL), as rent royalty for operating in an office space at Terminal 3.

The Minority in Parliament last year raised concerns about the agreement, saying it breaches the procurement laws of the country and lacks transparency.

Last year, the Minority Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa promised to move a motion for a bipartisan parliamentary inquiry into the award of the contract to Frontiers.

During the vetting of Health Minister-designate Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, the details of the contract came under scrutiny after he admitted that the company started operating without a license.

Mr Agyeman-Manu however, justified the move claiming that “in the pandemic, there were certain things that we had to do and try to rectify as we go forward because of the urgency of what we should do immediately”.

Before his turn before the Appointments Committee of Parliament, about four Ministerial nominees questioned about the details of the contract were unable to provide any information regarding the contract, stating that they were not privy to the agreement between Frontier and the GACL.

This has raised even more questions as to whether the company went through the right processes, including procurement before being offered the contract.