I was not involved in COVID-19 testing contract at KIA - Adwoa Safo

-Adwoa Safo has joined four other government officials to deny involvement in the deal

-The deal was contracted under an emergency procurement process

-As a result, the firm operated whilst unlicensed

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Sara Adwoa Safo, the former Procurement Minister of State, has told the Appointments Committee of Parliament that she did not know the processes that led to the selection of the company conducting the COVID-19 test at the Kotoka International Airport.

The government of Ghana engaged Frontier Healthcare Solution Services Limited under emergency procurement to carry out rapid COVID-19 tests at the airport following the reopening of the facility to international passenger flights.

The company began its operations in the country without the necessary license.

Questioned for further details on the process leading to the selection of Frontier, the Gender Minister-designate said former Minister, Ken Offori-Atta, was the best person to furnish the committee with those details.

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The Dome-Kwabenya lawmaker hinged her response on the fact that the Public Procurement Act of 2003 was not changed during her tenure as Minister of State for Public Procurement.

“So, the supervisory minister which is clearly stated in the law is the Minister for Finance,” she said.

Already, four key government officials have distanced themselves from the contract including former Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu and former Deputy Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame.

Agyeman-Manu explained that the arrangement was carried out by the presidential taskforce supporting the health ministry on containing the COVID-19 scourge.

“They actually did the procurement,” he said.

Meanwhile, the well-rehearsed and coordinated parades from various schools across the country during Independence Day would not come on this year.

President Akufo-Addo suspended the mounting of parades as part of activities to mark Ghana’s 64th Independence Day celebration due to the increasing COVID-19 cases in the country.

This will be the first time in the history of our country's Independence Day celebrations a parade will not be held.

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“We are not in normal times,” the president said in the directive issued on February 11, 2021.

COVID-19 has killed 28 more people in Ghana, raising the country’s death toll to 561 as at the time of filing this report.

A total of 702 new COVID-19 cases were also recorded, making the active cases 7,866.

However, there seems to be a reduction in the active cases and the total recorded cases as statistics from February 15 indicated that there were 718 new cases and 8,216 active cases.

Ghana has had 77,748 confirmed cases of infection with 69,321 recoveries.

The Greater Accra Region leads with the highest number of active cases followed by the Ashanti Region and Western Region with 665 cases.

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Source: YEN.com.gh