Was it the same AB Adjei when Ghana Water bought stationery to last 100 years?

Yesterday August 21, 2019, an investigative documentary aired on Joy News exposed the CEO of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), Mr. Adjenim Boateng Adjei also known as AB Adjei in a possible conflict of interest situation.

The documentary by freelance journalist, Mannaseh Azure Awuni showed the CEO, in probable conflict of interest situations. His own company, Talent Discovery Limited was bidding and winning multiple contracts from the PPA that he heads.

This afternoon, the President announced his suspension pending investigations by the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice and the Office of the Special Prosecutor.

However, ghanabusinessnews.com has found a report by the Chronicle newspaper indicating that in 2001 the Justice Nicholas Yaw Boafo Adade Committee of Enquiry, set up by the then Minister of Works and Housing, Kwamena Bartels to investigate cases of embezzlement at the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) as reported by the Chief Internal Auditor, found a number of staff culpable and among them was one AB Adjei.

Among others, the committee found that certain regions had acquired large stocks of printed stationery, contrary to the GWCL Board’s directive that such stocks should not be purchased in excess of a year’s requirements of the particular region.

The committee also found that some regions had stocks of stationery that could last for 100 years. In the course of the investigations, the committee found other issues such as those of embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds, the report said.

For instance, an untraceable amount of ¢800 million (old cedis) was written off from the creditors’ records of the company while an excess amount of about ¢3 billion (old cedis) was paid to a supplier, it added.

The newspaper further noted that three chief managers and 14 other workers were implicated in the report.

The Adade Commission recommended some of the officials to be dismissed adding that they should face prosecution. These were Messrs Charles Adjei – Managing Director, A.B. Adjei – Chief Manager (materials) (Likely, the suspended PPA CEO), Robert Tackie – Duputy Manager (Finance and Administration), Charles Mensah – Chief Manager (commercial), S.G.O. Lamptey- Deputy Managing Director (operations) and E.N.A. Amarteifio- Stores Manager.

Others are Peter Deamesi – Chief Manager (Administration), Albert Asomoah- Eastern Region stores, Eric Owusu-Ansah – Western Region stores, Madam Mary Ofori- Ashanti Region stores and Kenneth Ennin – Principal Revenue Officer.

The rest are Messrs Kofi Quarshie- Purchasing Officer, Atta Poku- Senior Audit Assistant, Henry Forson – Storekeeper, Charles Ansong Lawson (then retired) – Public Relations Manager and Capt Victor Ansah (rtd) – Consumer Relations Officer.

The Committee however indicated that Cobbie Kessie, former deputy Managing Director, who, after having been confirmed, was dismissed by the Board on the orders of Charles Adjei, should be compensated for wrongful dismissal, adding that the company may decide to reinstate him if the need to employ another deputy MD arises in the future.

“However, he, together with Messrs Charles Mensah, Peter Deamesi and A.B. Adjei misused an amount of ¢72.5 million so they should be investigated and prosecuted for causing financial loss to the state,” the report said.

If this is the same A. B. Adjei, how come he was never prosecuted and later appointed to head the PPA in 2005?

Further checks show that AB Adjei, together with nine other staff were reinstated at Ghana Water, because the Attorney General’s Department, contrary to the Committee’s findings, couldn’t prosecute them for lack of sufficient evidence.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi