The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has petitioned the World Bank to investigate a $48 million unapproved contract signed by the Minister of Communications and Digitalization, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful.
Last week, Ablakwa alleged that the Minister had awarded the said contract without the approval of the Public Procurement Authority (PPA). The minister however denied those claims and challenged Ablakwa to provide evidence of the contract she allegedly signed.
In response, Ablakwa presented additional details, which the minister dismissed as an attempt to shift the focus of the issue.
On July 12, 2023, Ablakwa publicly released the formal petition he had submitted to the World Bank a day earlier.
Taking to his Twitter handle, he called for an investigation into what he described as “irregularities, misrepresentation, insider dealing, and conflict of interest” surrounding the US$48 million Ascend Scandal. He also questioned how this scandal was used to fraudulently secure a US$49.5 million World Bank-funded eTransform project.
The petition, consisting of eight pages, was addressed to Ms Maria C. Mallo, a senior investigator at the World Bank in Washington.
