Dafeamekpor sues: Terminate Agenda 111 contract with Adjaye Associates

A National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP for South Dayi, Dafeamekpor Rockson-Nelson, has filed a law suit at the High Court demanding that the contractual agreement between the government of Ghana and Adjaye Associates be terminated.

He argues that the government breached sections of the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663), when it contracted the international architecture firm for the design of hospitals in government’s flagship policy, Agenda 111.

Adjaye Associates ahead of the commencement of government’s Agenda 111, was contracted by the Hospital Infrastructure Group LTD as the design architect for the standardized district hospital currently under construction across the country in districts without hospitals.

Claims of NDC MP
In his statement of claim, the NDC MP (Applicant) says that the “government (Defendant in the suit), in contracting Adjaye and Associates, ignored the procurement processes laid down by law, in particular, the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663)”.

“At no point was there an open call for bids from other members of the Chartered Institute of Architects despite sending out announcements for competitive bids” and that government “could only procure services for a contract by inviting a proposal or price quotation from a single supplier or contractor where the conditions under section 40 of the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663) have been met,” the MP’s statement of claim noted.

Additionally, it is the contention of the lawmaker that the Government of Ghana’s procurement of iRisk Management Limited to “handle correspondence with the insurance company and any claims that may arise and provide risk management advisory services” as well as the contracting of “Enterprise Insurance as the insurance company responsible for the insurance of the Agenda 111 project”, also “ignored the procurement processes laid down by law, in particular, the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663)”.

20 reliefs
The applicant is therefore praying the High Court to grant it 20 reliefs. Among the reliefs he is seeking are “a declaration that the failure of the Defendant (government) to comply with the laid down procedure provided under Section 35 and 36 of the Public Procurement Act, 2003, Act 663 when it awarded the contract to Adjaye and Associates renders the design contract null and void with no effect”.

“An order directed at the Government of Ghana to terminate the building design contract with Adjaye and Associates” and a further order “directing the Defendant to engage in a competitive two-stage tendering procurement process in order to award the contract as provided under Sections 35 and 36 of the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663)”.

“An order that the Thirty-Six million Ghana Cedis (GHC36,000,000.00) advanced to Adjaye and Associates as payment for consultancy fees for the design. Project management and coordination under the building design contract be refunded to the State”.

“A declaration that the Defendant’s failure to award the contract for the insurance brokerage of the Agenda 111 project by competitive tendering was unlawful and contrary to Section 35 and 36 of the Public Procurement Act,2003 (Act 663)” and a subsequent order “directed at the Government of Ghana to terminate the insurance brokerage contract with iRisk Management Limited and with Enterprise Life Insurance Company”.

He is also seeking “an order directing the Defendant to charge and prosecute the Minister of Health and all officials involved in the unlawful award of the insurance contract to Enterprise Life Insurance Company for causing financial loss to the State under Section 179A of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960, Act 29”.

Agenda 111
President Akufo-Addo’s flagship agenda to build 111 hospitals across the country took off on Tuesday 17 August 2021. Following the novel coronavirus/COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020, the Akufo-Addo government took heed of the severity of the pandemic’s impact on the many districts in Ghana which do not have a hospital.

To bridge the gap, the government announced that it had decided to build hospitals in the left-out districts. In seeking to fulfil its promise to the nation and people of Ghana at this moment in our history, the government is taking a bold step. By building these hospitals, it will start to correct what has been a long-standing anomaly in distribution of health infrastructure across the country.

The 111 hospitals are a major infrastructure intervention. And when complete, the programme will fulfil the government’s policy of maintaining at least one hospital for each district and region. It will also improve geographical health-care coverage and access to health care for all Ghanaians, wherever they reside in Ghana, and transform health-care delivery in our local communities.

Scope of the project
The Ministry of Health says the Agenda 111 project will cover the following deliverables: design, procurement, construction, equipping and commissioning of 101 district hospitals, six regional hospitals in the newly created regions (Bono, Bono East, North East, Oti, Savannah and Western North), as well as one new regional hospital in the Western Region, two psychiatric hospitals (Kumasi and Tamale) and redevelopment of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital.

The Western Region will also benefit from rehabilitation of Effia Nkwanta Hospital. All of the hospitals are expected to have a complement of staff accommodation for doctors, nurses and other health workers.