GRA pays over GH¢5.9m to a Board Member as rent

Movement for Truth and Accountability is raining red flag on some activities of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) citing possible conflict of interest and insider trading among members of the Board of Directors.

According to the organization in a statement delivered at a press conference today copied obtained by Awake News alleged that “On the 4th day of January 2018, the Ghana Revenue Authority entered a tenancy agreement with Fio Enterprise Limited to rent their three-story building at Agbogbloshie for a period of five years at a cost of Forty-Nine Thousand and Thirty-Five Ghana Cedis Sixteen Pesewas (GHc 49,035.16) per month. The annual cost of renting the premise is Five Hundred and Eighty-Eight Thousand Four Hundred and Twenty One Ghana Cedis Ninety Two Pesewas (GHc588,421.92). In five years, GRA will be paying Fio Enterprise Two Million, Nine Hundred and Forty-Two Thousand, One Hundred and Nine Ghana Cedis Six Pesewas (GHc 2,942,109.6).”

Again “On the 1st Day of June 2019, Ghana Revenue Authority signed a tenancy agreement with Fio Enterprise Limited to rent their two-storey building office accommodation located at South Industrial Area for a period of five years. Each month’s rent is Fifty Thousand Four Hundred Ghana Cedis (GHc50,400.00). This amounts to Six Hundred and Four Thousand eight Hundred Ghana Cedis (GHc604,800.00) per annum or Three Million, Twenty Four Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHc3,024.000) over the five year period of rent.”

“Additionally, GRA per the agreement has to pay the landlord an amount of One Hundred and Twenty Thousand (120,000.00) annually solely for maintenance, Ghana Revenue Authority purchased a second-hand plant that has been in use by the same company, Fio Enterprise Limited for over 7 years at a cost of Thirty Five Thousand Ghana Cedis” – the group’s Convenor, Joseph Bediako said

Mr. Bediako said they wondered “who is the lucky owner of Fio Enterprise Limited, the darling company that has managed to win such juicy deals from Ghana Revenue Authority?” prompting them to conduct a search at the Registrar General’s Department and it turns out that the owner of Fio Enterprise is Madam Adelaide Ahwireng.

According to him, “Madam Adelaide Ahwireng, the owner of the two buildings costing the nation Five Million, Nine Hundred and Sixty-Six Thousand One Hundred and Nine, Six Pesewas (GHc5966109.6) is one of the nine board members of Ghana Revenue Authority.”

They have since indicated that they will petition the Commission of Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) over the matter and want the Board of the GRA dissolved.

Read the full statement and copies of the agreements:

ARE GRA BOARD MEMBERS IN CONTRACT GRABBING?

To us at Movement for Truth and Accountability, we believe that sanity at the Ghana Revenue Authority is central to the development of the nation because it is the main organisation mandated to collect taxes needed for running the nation.

This is why over the years, we have taken it upon ourselves to not only monitor but also help the organisation recover millions of Ghana Cedis worth of revenue the state lost through tax evasion by some organisations and individuals. It has not been an easy fight but we remain resolute and strengthened by the conviction that no matter the cost, it is imperative that the national interest should be protected.

In due time, we will ring the entire nation up to date on how even ‘management’ of GRA directly on indirectly contribute to these offenses.

In today’s press conference, which is going to be the first of many in the coming weeks, we are impressing on the leadership of GRA to explain to the entire nation how some contracts were won and why the person/people who won the said contracts did win them.

On the 4th day of January 2018, the Ghana Revenue Authority entered a tenancy agreement with Fio Enterprise Limited to rent their three-story building at Agbogbloshie for a period of five years at a cost of Forty-Nine Thousand and Thirty-Five Ghana Cedis Sixteen Pesewas (GHc 49,035.16) per month. The annual cost of renting the premise is Five Hundred and Eighty-Eight Thousand Four Hundred and Twenty One Ghana Cedis Ninety Two Pesewas (GHc588,421.92). In five years, GRA will be paying Fio Enterprise Two Million, Nine Hundred and Forty-Two Thousand, One Hundred and Nine Ghana Cedis Six Pesewas (GHc 2,942,109.6).

Again

On the 1st Day of June 2019, Ghana Revenue Authority signed a tenancy agreement with Fio Enterprise Limited to rent their two-storey building office accommodation located at South Industrial Area for a period of five years. Each month’s rent is Fifty Thousand Four Hundred Ghana Cedis (GHc50,400.00). This amounts to Six Hundred and Four Thousand eight Hundred Ghana Cedis (GHc604,800.00) per annum or Three Million, Twenty Four Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHc3,024.000) over the five year period of rent.

Additionally, GRA per the agreement has to pay the landlord an amount of One Hundred and Twenty Thousand (120,000.00) annually solely for maintenance,

Ghana Revenue Authority purchased a second-hand plant that has been in use by the same company, Fio Enterprise Limited for over 7 years at a cost of Thirty Five Thousand Ghana Cedis

Ladies and gentlemen, one would ask, who is the lucky owner of Fio Enterprise Limited, the darling company that has managed to win such juicy deals from Ghana Revenue Authority?

From our checks at the Registrar General’s Department, the owner of Fio Enterprise is Madam Adelaide Ahwireng.

Who is Madam Adelaide Ahwireng?

Madam Adelaide Ahwireng, the owner of the two buildings costing the nation Five Million, Nine Hundred and Sixty-Six Thousand One Hundred and Nine, Six Pesewas (GHc5966109.6) is one of the nine board members of Ghana Revenue Authority.

Yes, the beneficiary of these deals is an acting board member who has a duty to check management and also ensure that the Ghana Revenue Authority functions efficiently is the beneficiary of these deals.

With so many issues surrounding the Ghana Revenue Authority, some of which we have already made known to the Ghanaian public, our only hope was the board, who have a direct say in how the authority should run. We are therefore very worried that a board member will put herself in a position that compromises her in the judicious discharge of her duties.

We are of the view that Madam Adelaide Ahwireng has put herself in a position that will affect her in the discharge of her duties to the nation through GRA.

Our Demands

Madam Ahwireng should be sacked

We are of the view that this is a clear case of conflict of interest and abuse of office and hence the culprit should be relieved off her duties. We need people whose capacity to be first and see to it that GRA Management works within the laid down procedures on the board to demand such quality of leadership. Madam Ahwireng can’t be trusted to carry out her duties in as firmly as she should.

GRA board should be dissolved

We are calling on the president of the republic of Ghana to dissolve the GRA Board and reconstitute one that will be firm and ensure that fellow member does not take undue advantage of their positions. For them to have seen through these deals and others we will reveal in the coming days, the GRA Board has failed in it’s duty to protect the interest of the nation and should therefore give way for one that would stick to its mandate and not allow fellow members milk the very organisation they are suppose oversee.

Additionally, we believe that GRA failed to do proper due diligence before signing the contracts because similar houses at even more expensive location were considerably cheaper than what the state is hanged on to for the next five years upon our investigation.

We are therefore asking the authority to come out and explain to the good people of Ghana how competitive the process leading to the rental of the two houses were?

Our next move from here will be to petition CHRAJ with evidence of many questionable deals from the same company and another owned by same Madam Ahwireng.

GRA is an organisation gaining notoriety for engaging in questionable deals to respond to, of which Mrs Adelaide Ahwireng features prominently.

As an organisation, we will continue to focus our attention on Ghana Revenue Authority because we believe that prudent management achieved there will go a long way to make the nation achieve it’s revenue expectations.

This is just a tip on the iceberg, more to come…