The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has ruled that the former Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Dr Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, be barred from holding any public office for five years and referred to the Attorney-General for prosecution after investigations uncovered corruption, fraud, and procurement breaches that caused a financial loss of GHS 8,971,933.43 (about $826,551) to the state.
The ruling follows a 2022 petition filed by the Movement for Truth and Accountability (MFTA), a civil society group, which accused the former GRA boss of fraudulent procurement practices in contracts for the supply of vehicles and logistics to the Authority.
According to CHRAJ’s 157-page report, the GRA, under Dr. Owusu-Amoah’s leadership, awarded contracts worth millions of cedis to Ronor Motors Ltd, Sajel Motors & Trading Company Ltd, and Telinno Ghana Ltd on October 1, 2021, using single-source procurement in violation of Ghana’s procurement laws.
CHRAJ found that the GRA misled the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) to approve the single-source method under “dubious circumstances”, contrary to the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663) as amended.
Investigations also revealed that Sajel Motors and Telinno Ghana had no verifiable business addresses and had fraudulently duplicated contracts already awarded to Ronor Motors. All three companies were also found to be non-tax compliant at the time of the deals.
“The contracts were tainted with fraud and corruption,” CHRAJ stated. “The inflated pricing of the vehicles led to a direct financial loss to the state estimated at $826,551.”
CHRAJ held Dr Owusu-Amoah personally responsible for the procurement irregularities, declaring:
“The respondent, being the entity head, cannot escape liability, as he supervised its execution.”
As part of its sanctions, CHRAJ has directed that:
- Dr Owusu-Amoah be disqualified from holding any public office for five years.
- He and the directors of the three companies be referred to the Attorney-General for prosecution and recovery of the state’s lost funds.
- Sajel Motors Ltd and Telinno Ghana Ltd be debarred from future state contracts.
The Commission also urged the Public Procurement Authority to enforce strict compliance with the Public Procurement Regulations, 2022 (L.I. 2466), especially regarding single-source procurement, to safeguard public resources and ensure value for money.
