Acting Executive Secretary of the National Identification Authority (NIA) Professor Ken Attafuah has denied claims by Kennedy Agyapong that he was bribed to award the country’s identification card project contract to Margins Group. Mr. Agyapong on Tuesday impugned the integrity of Prof. Attafuah claiming the latter received huge bribe in the form of lands from the owner of the company that won the National Identification System (NIS) Project, the contract, which has stoked controversy “Margins gave Attafuah lands. Yes, Martins gave him lands before he gave also gave in. I am telling you. I challenge them.” Ken Agyapong alleged on Adom TV last Tuesday, adding ‘If it was NDC I would have said it, and if NPP is doing it, I will talk”. However, Prof. Attafuah in a statement Sunday to set the record straight on the cost of the entire project as well as the allegations made against him said Mr. Agyapong’s claims were borne out of “ignorance, confusion and/or needless malice”. “I categorically deny Mr. Agyepong’s allegation that I have engaged in corruption, thievery or fraud. The allegation is palpably false, malicious and defamatory,” he said. Prof. Attafuah explained that he and his wife bought the land in question from one Moses Baiden who was introduced to to them by one Stephen Ntim, a mutual friend. He said he and his wife commenced construction of the house at Atomic Hills, Ashongman Estates, Accra, in September 2009 and took occupancy of the uncompleted house in December 2011, and continued to develop it gradually, one paycheck at a time. “During that period, our children were described by their school colleagues as living in an ‘uncompleted house’ and were made the laughing stock in the schoolyard,” he claimed “At the time of buying the land, I was not a public servant, and I had no way of knowing that I would return to head the NIA, or that I would become the chairman of a committee of technical experts to advise Government on a roadmap to revitalize Ghana’s NIS” he added. He indicated that he has “not taken a bribe from Mr. Moses Baiden or anyone else. I have not received a gift of land, cash or any other object of valuable consideration from any person for any work I have done or will do in future. Prof. Attafuah said he acted “with utmost integrity and professionalism” and served the best interests of Ghana with his best intellect as acting Executive Secretary of the NIA. By 3news.com|Ghana
Read the full statement below ALLEGATIONS OF CORRUPTION AGAINST PROF. KEN ATTAFUAH – A CATEGORICAL DENIAL Prof. Kenneth Agyemang Attafuah, Esq. Ag. Executive Secretary, National Identification Authority My attention has been drawn to statements made on traditional and social media platforms by Hon. Kennedy Agyepong, MP for Assin Central and Member of the New Patriotic Party, alleging that I have engaged in “corruption”, “thievery” and “fraud” in the award of a contract connected with the National Identification System (NIS) Project. Mr. Agyepong has also complained vehemently about my having allegedly awarded the contract at a cost of $1.2 billion. Specifically, Hon. Agyepong thundered the following statements, which have since gone viral, on Adom TV on 29th May 2018: “Ghana Card Contract costing 1.2 billion, stupid. I brought a contract costing $50million from India. Ken Attafuah took land from the CEO of Margins Group to build his house and gave him the contract”. I categorically deny the allegations and respond as follows:
- Award of the NIS Project Contract and Cost of Operations
- I was appointed Ag. Executive Secretary of the National Identification Authority (NIA) by President Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo on 27th January 2017, and I assumed office on 6th February of that year.
- By letter dated 22nd May 2017, Government directed the National Identification NIA to immediately engage with Identity Management Systems Ltd (IMS), a subsidiary of the Margins Group, to “agree on modalities to ensure the efficient roll-out of NIS project no later than 15th September 2017”.
- The said directive followed Government’s acceptance of the key recommendations of a Technical Committee established by the Vice President to develop a roadmap for implementing the NIS Project. Based on the recommendations of the Technical Committee, Government had “determined that the existing agreement between NIA and IMS constitutes a viable and effective vehicle for the implementation of a modern, robust and reliable NIS for Ghana consistent with Government’s stated policy commitments”. Government was to build on an existing Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement between NIA and IMS, which it described as constituting a turnkey solution for the NIS Project.
- It is instructive to note that, the Technical Committee comprised 16 individuals, most of whom were heads of ICT or operations at a number of statutory public service institutions involved the issuance of identity cards or interested in data management. They included the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), Electoral Commission (EC), Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) and the NIA. Other members were from the National Information Technology Agency (NITA), Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlements System (GHIPPS), National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Births and Deaths Registry, and the Office of the Vice-President.
- In the course of its work, the Committee, which I chaired, granted audience to 15 prospective solutions providers and the World Bank Group (acting in an advisory capacity) to present their potential solutions, and to share with the Committee their knowledge and experiences on relevant international best practices. One such entity was India-based Madras Security Printing, which was presented by Hon. Kennedy Agyapong. As with all entities, the Committee made it clear that it was neither receiving bids nor evaluating proposals or awarding contracts; it was merely an advisory body trying to understand what options for solution might be available to Government for reviving Ghana’s NIS.
- In reaching a collective decision, each member personally decided and openly pronounced on which of the three possible options for solution he/she favoured. All but two members selected the NIA-IMS solution. One of the two wrote a Dissenting Opinion to the Presidency, and same was thoroughly examined by the Presidency but rejected. Government approved of the majority. I had no capacity to, and did not, influence the decisions of either the Committee or Government on this highly technical matter.
- At the end of its work, the Committee concluded that there already existed a turnkey solution that supports the instant issuance of multi-purpose smart cards that meet technical requirements. The recommended solution was to expand the Foreigner Identification Management Systems (FIMS) Project developed by IMS for NIA, which was being executed under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement between the two institutions since 2012. The expanded system anticipated the benefits of leveraging on NIA’s existing data and IT assets and the upgrading of NIA’s Data Centre which had become obsolete.
- Pursuant to the said Government directive, and following critical and comprehensive regulatory and approval processes which spanned over seven months, NIA entered into a PPP contract with IMS on 16thApril 2018 for the implementation of the NIS. The said processes included:
- The NIA’s cost of $124 million out of the $293.6 million represents 42% of the first year Project cost and will be spent on the following:
- The Central Site (AFIS, Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), Multi-Personalization System, Card Management System)
- Upgrading of the NIA Data Center from Tier II level to Tier III level
- Procurement of Disaster Recovery System
- Procurement of two MX-6100 card printers for 2-D bar code cards.
- Procurement of additional 2-D bar code cards
- Training of over 70,000 field operators for 12 Operational Regions
- Deployment of and compensation for 12,000 field operators for 12 Operational Regions
- Issuance of 9.2 million 2-D barcode ID cards to Ghanaian children under 15 years old
- Procurement of 65 operational vehicles and 60 motor bikes
- Procurement of two 350-KVA generator sets for the Data Centre
- Procurement of 1,600 generator sets for field operations
- Procurement of sundry registration materials and consumables (e.g. registration forms, challenge forms, oath forms, stationery, lockable boxes, environmental health and safety materials and kits, signage and directional signs, ropes, safety boots and reflective clothing
- Provision of mass communications and information services
- Insurance for NIA personnel, vehicles and equipment
- Refurbishment of NIA Headquarters Building
- Administrative expenses
- For the first year of the Project, IMS II will bear the cost of $169 million out of the total project cost. This amount represents 58% of the Project cost, and will be spent on the following:
- Designing and building the technical platforms for verification
- Providing technical field operational support for all the over 25,000 NIA registration centres across the country
- Providing consumables for personalization with 1,100 Datacard printers
- Providing 2,500 mobile registration workstations
- Providing main communications integration system
- Providing web services for stakeholders
- Providing on-line registration and payment portal
- Providing 500 card issuance and verification hardware and software
- Providing 16.2 million dual-interface smart cards (148K) with 14 applets for stakeholders
- During the 15-year life cycle of the PPP, NIA’s full cost of $531 million will be paid for under the revenue model. This cost includes the setting up and running of regional offices as well as zonal and district offices across the country, the payment of compensation for NIA staff, the production of 37.2 million 2D barcode cards and the running cost of the Authority in general. This amount is inclusive of the $124 million to be paid by the GoG in the first year.
- On IMS II’s part, its full cost over the 15 year period will be $690 million and will also be paid for by the revenue model. This cost includes the cost of upgrading the technical system every 5 years, maintenance and the production of 52.2 million smart cards. This amount includes the $169.9 million to be borne by IMS II in the first year.
- A total of 90,823,235 cards will be produced and issued to Ghanaians both home and abroad over the 15 years. The stated figure includes cards that will be reissued, replaced and renewed. The table below provides the breakdown:
- Land for Contract – Corruption, Thievery and Fraud
- I was appointed as Ag. Executive Secretary of NIA in July 2008 and was terminated in July 2009.
- My wife and I commenced the construction of the house at Atomic Hills, Ashongman Estates, Accra, in September 2009. We took occupancy of the uncompleted house in December 2011, and continued to develop it gradually, one paycheck at a time, until 2011. During that period, our children were described by their school colleagues as living in an “uncompleted house” and were made the laughing stock in the schoolyard.
- My wife and I bought the plot of land from Mr. Moses Baiden who was introduced to us by a mutual friend, Mr. Stephen Ntim, following the demolition of our house by “National Security” shortly after my termination from office as Executive Secretary of NIA.
- During my first period of stewardship at NIA, I never dealt with Mr. Moses Baiden, Group CEO of the Margins Group, although Margins was part of a consortium of companies that supported Sagem Morpho, the French company that won the international contract in 2006 to provide technical support to the NIA in the implementation of the NIS. Indeed, Mr. Baiden had already been part of the 2006 contract as the chair of the local consortium called the Ghana Identification Company (GIDC) as part of the local content obligation under the said contract. I was appointed in July 2008 to replace Prof. Ernest Dumor who had served as CEO for the period 2006 to 2008.
- At the time of buying the land, I was not a public servant, and I had no way of knowing that I would return to head the NIA, or that I would become the chairman of a committee of technical experts to advise Government on a roadmap to revitalize Ghana’s NIS.
- The allegations from the Honourable Member of Parliament for Assin Central can only issue from ignorance, confusion and/or needless malice. During the sittings of the Technical Committee, Mr. Agyepong once attacked me in the corridors of the SNNIT headquarters, menacingly threatening to “deal with me” drastically if I gave “the NIA contract to that Margins guy” and failed to “give it to [his] company from India which alone can do it for cheap”. I told Mr. Agyepong that I was only the chair of a Committee of technocrats, and we would work in good conscience and submit our report to Government, but “As for me and my household, we would serve the Lord”. Mr. Agyepong evidently bears me a grudge!