Declare conflict of interest to avoid termination of contracts – WAPCo
The West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited (WAPCo), has cautioned vendors and stakeholders interested in doing business with it but have relatives or friends in the company to as a matter of fact declare conflict of interest before contract processes begin.
By declaring conflict of interest, potential contractors and staff who are interested in bidding for any contract, should first of all declare if they have a family, friend or any relationship with a staff in the company.
A staff of the company would also have to declare if they also have a relationship with the contractor to ensure the contracting process is not prejudiced.
Speaking on Conflict of Interest and Anti-bribery at WAPCo’s 2017 vendor forum April 28, 2017, Emmanuella Arukwe, the head of Regulatory Compliance, General Council, WAPCo said, “having a potential conflict does not preclude you from bidding, if a relative is an employee in the company and you want to bid it doesn’t preclude you from bidding.”
“However, you have to first declare conflict of interest. When you declare, it doesn’t preclude you from bidding, what it does is that it prevents you from having anything to do with the contracting process so that the relationship does not affect the outcome.”
Additionally, there is a contradiction of the compliance process of the company if one does not declare conflict of interest and it comes with punishment.
“We set a panel up and if you are found guilty of hiding information, it could lead to termination,” she added.
On bribery, Arukwe noted, “we have had to blacklist a contract after we found out that the contractor tried to bribe one of our staff.”
WAPCO urged all stakeholders and vendors to make insurance policies for contracts a priority as they would depend on the policy to pay for liabilities that could arise out of the operations.
She further cautioned vendors not to delay performance on contracts of which time is of essence to avoid incurring penalty charges.
The forum was organized to address challenges with the company’s procurement system and update stakeholders and vendors on safety measures and practices.
In a separate development, some residents of Kpone and Tema have been reported to have encroached on the company’s regulatory and metering station in Tema
This development according to reports threatens the underground pipelines and could pose serious danger when there is an explosion.
By Pamela Ofori-Boateng