A nine-member Steering Committee has been set up to ensure that the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) keeps proper records of all Public, Private Partnership (PPP) contracts.
The committee would straighten the PPP portfolio of the Assembly, which has been in disarray for some time, by adhering to prescribed procedures, and ultimately, value for money.
The membership of the committee comprises the Metro Engineer, Metro Coordinating Director, Procurement Officer, Budget Officer, Development Planning Officer, Head of Environmental Unit, Roads Engineer, Finance Officer, and Solicitor.
Until the composition of the Steering Committee, the KMA did not have any proper documentation, which situation allegedly allowed alteration of Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) records.
The Metro Engineer, Inj David Ameyaw, Chairman of the Committee, who admitted that the PPP portfolio of the KMA was previously in disarray, attributed the messy situation to the signing of contracts by administrators at the Sub-Metro Councils on behalf of the Assembly.
He wondered what criteria went into the signing of what he called ridiculous contracts for over 40 years.
The Metro Engineer said, with the technical team (Committee) in place, the Metro Coordinating Director and the KMA lawyer/solicitor were enjoined to sign agreements and contracts, which are sealed, and a copy kept at the High Court to avoid possible alterations under the new dispensation.
He said the Steering Committee would now ensure realistic years for contracts for the benefit of the KMA. “The Committee will not give outrageous years,” he asserted, and gave the assurance that before contracts were signed, it (Committee) would scrutinise the financial proposals to ensure transparency in the award of contracts under the PPP.
Currently, the KMA, unlike previously, has the mandate to renew contracts and revise percentages of the shares in partnerships, and thus afford the Assembly the advantage of charging surtax under the new regime.
With the inception of the PPP Steering Committee, the KMA had facilitated and entered into 16 PPP agreements, covering sanitation and social interventions under the BOT, ranging between four and 20 years.
They include the redevelopment of the Asafo Market in Kumasi over four years, and the Renovation of the Rattray Park under a 15-year contract.
While the reconstruction of the Bantama Market and the redevelopment of the Asafo Market are pre-financed, the rest are being constructed on BOT basis.
