The Roads and Transport Committee of Parliament is in the process of summoning the Transport Ministry and the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) over the controversial Christmas trees used to decorate the airport last year.

This is according to the Ranking Member on the Committee, Governs Kwame Agbodza.

The Adaklu lawmaker said the varied responses from the Ministry and the Airport Company create doubts on the issue.

A doubt he said, can only be cleared when both institutions are summoned simultaneously.

“It basically creates doubt whether somebody is basically trying to cover up in a very shabby way, something that has been done wrong.”

“The Committee is in the process of inviting the Ministry [of Transport] to come along with the airport company, so that we can get the facts as to what happened,” Mr. Agbodza said.

He added that currently, the Committee is confused as to which of the responses to believe.

“Until we meet the Ministry and Board of the Ghana Airports Company and the Management, it is going to be very difficult to know who is not telling the truth,” the MP added.

A revelation by the Ministry contradicted an earlier claim by the Board Chairman of the GACL, Paul Adom-Otchere, that “two separate suppliers were invited to submit bids. The bids were discussed and discounts obtained.”

The Ministry also said the 2021 “Christmas decorations in question were rented” and not bought, as was previously claimed by the GACL Board Chairman.

The Ministry of Transport’s revelations are contained in a response to a right to information (RTI) request filed to GACL by one Redeemer Buatsi in January, 2021 and sighted by The Fourth Estate.

This is what has necessitated the summoning from Parliament.

Background

Earlier in the year, news emerged that the GACL had bought Christmas trees and decorations at over GHC128,000, but the Board Chairman of the company responded to the allegations in hours.

The news of the procurement emerged with leaked proforma invoices from two companies from which the services were procured.

The two invoices were addressed to the GACL, with one of them naming the Board Chairman, Paul Adom-Otchere.

A proforma invoice from Jandel Limited for “Terminal 3 Arrival Hall (a decorated Christmas tree with lights), lighting décor on the trees around the lawn, and decoration of existing trees” amounted to a total of GHC38,775.

Another proforma invoice from Favors and Arts for the rental of a Christmas chandelier with lights amounted to GHC90,500.

The proforma invoice from Favors and Arts was addressed to the GACL and “Mr Paul Adom-Otchere”.

This led to some public disquiet with social media commentators questioning the corporate governance structures at the GACL that allowed the board chairman of the state-owned company to be directly involved in the procurement of Christmas decorations.