The Attorney-General’s department has directed that GH¢15.5 million paid to drivers’ licence printing company Foto-X is an overpayment and should be refunded.
The Economic and Organised Crime Office found that although Foto-X was due to be paid GH¢5,544,000, the Driver Vehicle and Licencing Authority (DVLA) paid out GH¢20.9 million between 2006 and 2012, the duration of its first contract with Foto-X to the company.
EOCO investigated a drivers’ licence printing contract between DVLA and Foto-X after auditors found that the contract sum had ballooned over time.
The $3.3million contract signed by the then Chief Executive of the DVLA, Mr Justice Amegashie, caused controversy when the figure was later found out to have nearly tripled to $9.9 million.
Facing Parliament’s Transport Committee Justice Amegashie begged Ghanaians for forgiveness after failing to explain the mysterious jump in the contract sum.
His ‘to err is human’ explanation triggered a public bashing and outrage on social media.
After investigating the saga, EOCO threatened to charge him with causing financial loss to the state and recommended to the A-G to take legal action against Foto-X.
A report from the A-G’s department described the contract as fraudulent. The department directed the cancellation of the contract which was renewed in 2012.
According to the A-G, the contract was a turn-key project, suggesting it ought not to have been extended or renewed once Foto-X had built a system to print drivers’ licences.
The contract was first signed in 2006 and was meant to end in 2012. But Justice Amegashie soon after his appointment, renewed the deal with a huge jump in the sum.
The A-G’s department says no payment should be made to Foto-X for the second contract as renewed in 2012.
