By James Amoh Junior

Accra, June 27, GNA – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has cited serious breaches of Ghana’s public procurement laws in a contract executed by former Ambassador to the United States, Mrs Hajia Alima Mahama, at the Ghana Embassy in Washington, D.C.

At a press briefing in Accra, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, disclosed that the Ministry had found no evidence of procurement approval or legal clearance for a 2023 contract between the Embassy and a private company operated by a locally recruited staff member, Mr Fred Kwarteng.

The contract, which covered courier and visa application services, was allegedly signed by the former Ambassador on behalf of the Embassy without the requisite authorization from the Ministry or the Public Procurement Authority.

“We have combed through all our records at the both headquarters and the mission and there is absolutely no documentation indicating that this contract received ministerial or legal clearance,” Mr Ablakwa said.

He said, “This is a flagrant violation of Ghana’s procurement laws and diplomatic service protocols.”

The revelation forms part of broader investigations into what the Minister called a “sophisticated fraudulent scheme”

It would be recall that Mr Ablakwa had disclosed that a special audit team uncovered widespread malpractice, leading to sweeping disciplinary actions, including the dismissal of Mr Fred Kwarteng, who joined the Embassy’s IT Department on August 11, 2017.

According to the audit report, and by Mr Kwarteng’s own admission, he had created an unauthorised link on the Embassy’s website that diverted passport and visa applicants to a private entity he personally owned where applicants were charged unapproved fees.

As a result, Mr Kwarteng was dismissed with immediate effect, and the matter has since been reported to the Attorney-General for possible prosecution and recovery of state funds.

In addition, there was a recall of all Foreign Affairs Ministry staff stationed at the Embassy, the dissolution of the entire IT department, and the suspension of all locally recruited staff pending further investigations.

According to the Foreign Affairs Minister, the contract in question was signed with a company called Travel Ghana Secure Data Center, which was represented by Mr Fred Kwarteng, the Embassy’s IT officer, now relieved off his role.

The contract granted Mr Kwarteng broad authority to operate courier services for visa and passport processing without any regulatory oversight.

Most troubling, the Mr Ablakwa revealed, was the fact that the contract had no termination clause, no fixed duration, and no pricing limits — effectively allowing the service provider to operate indefinitely and charge applicants arbitrary fees.

“This is not just irregular. It is illegal. No public officer, and certainly no Ambassador, has the power to enter into a financial agreement of this nature without following Ghana’s procurement rules,” Mr Ablakwa asserted.

The Foreign Minister noted that under Ghana’s Public Procurement Act, all government entities must seek approval from the Public Procurement Authority for sole-sourced or restricted tenders.

He said there was no evidence that this process was followed in the Embassy’s case.

“This contract would have failed even the most basic legal review. The lack of a competitive bidding process, the obvious conflict of interest, and the absence of cost controls are all red flags that cannot be ignored,” he said.

Mr Ablakwa also challenged the former Ambassador’s recent public comments defending the contract, and accused her of attempting to rationalize an unlawful process and mislead the public on the role and authority of the Ministry.

“She claims that ambassadors can sign such agreements on their own. That is absolutely false. Even where contracts are initiated at the mission level, they must be reviewed and approved by the Ministry’s legal and procurement units. That process was completely ignored,” he said.

He added that under the Ministry’s operational procedures, contracts involving financial commitments were to be signed by the Head of Chancery— not the Ambassador — after clearance from the Ministry.

“This internal control exists to prevent the very kind of abuse we are now dealing with,” he noted.

Mr Ablakwa further explained that similar service agreements in other Ghanaian missions, such as those in London and Beijing, had all gone through formal procurement procedures and included clearly stated fee structures and revenue-sharing provisions.

“In the United Kingdom, applicants pay £45 for certain expedited services, and the Ministry gets £7. In the United States and China, the standard is $55, with $7 remitted to the state. But this contract signed in Washington gave Mr Kwarteng the power to charge any amount he wanted, with no benefit to the state,” he said.

The Minister said the Ministry had submitted the full report of its fact-finding mission to the appropriate legal and oversight bodies including EOCO and the Office of the Attorney-General, for possible prosecution.

“We will not tolerate impunity or cover up procurement infractions under the cloak of diplomacy. The law must apply to everyone—whether at home or abroad,” he added.

Mr Ablakwa reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to safeguarding public funds and restoring accountability within Ghana’s diplomatic missions.

“Our embassies must reflect the values of integrity, transparency and good governance. This is not just about a bad contract — it is about protecting Ghana’s international reputation,” he said.

GNA

Edited by Christian Akorlie