Manasseh Azure Awuni and two other investigative journalists have published a new report alleging corrupt activities at the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL).
In their report, it’s alleged that GACL awarded a revenue assurance and auditing contract to Evatex Logistics Limited, a company with no prior experience in such services and only one registered employee.
The deal they claim was shrouded in secrecy and marred by allegations of backdating and procurement violations.
A Contract Under Scrutiny
The contract, intended to ensure accurate revenue reporting at Kotoka International Airport, has come under scrutiny for questionable execution.
Evidence suggests the agreement may have been signed after the New Patriotic Party (NPP) lost the 2024 election, with documents allegedly backdated to obscure the timing.
The former board chairman of GACL, Paul Adom-Otchere, has not denied claims that he introduced Evatex to the company, admitting the procurement process began at the board level.
Yvonne Nana Afriyie Opare, GACL’s Managing Director, defended the decision, citing a lack of internal capacity to perform the service.
However, Manasseh states that GACL employs 1,580 staff, including nine in its Audit, Risk Management, and Compliance department alone.
In stark contrast, Evatex, according to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), has just one employee—a fact known to GACL at the time of the contract’s award.
Ties to a Controversial Player
Investigations reveal that Evatex is closely linked to Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML), a company previously embroiled in a $141 million scandal involving dubious auditing contracts with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Ministry of Finance.
Both companies share the same beneficial owner, Evans Adusei, who serves as CEO of both SML and Evatex and signed the GACL contract.
The email address listed on Evatex’s website matches that of Evans Timbers Limited, SML’s parent company, further tying the two entities together.
The Evatex contract lists several high-ranking SML employees, including SML’s head of engineering, Hamdam Abubakar, and head of IT, Prince Opoku Sarpong.
Notably, former GRA officials, including Philip Jude Mensah, a former head of legal at GRA, and Isaac Crentsil, a former Commissioner of Customs, also appear on the Evatex roster, raising questions about whether SML is using Evatex as a front to secure additional government contracts.
Mr Awuni spoke to Ben Boakye, an Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Energy Policy, who described the arrangement as “bizarre,” noting that SML’s decision to operate through Evatex suggests a lack of confidence in its own legitimacy.
“If they were genuinely convinced that what they are doing is generating returns, I don’t see why you would metamorphose into another company to bid for another government project,” Boakye said.
Procurement Irregularities and a Dormant Company
Further investigation uncovered significant procurement and legal violations.
Neither Evatex nor SML is licensed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana (ICAG), to perform auditing or revenue assurance services, as required by the ICAG Act of 2020.
Evatex only added these services to its principal activities in February 2025, three months after securing the GACL contract.
Tax records reveal that Evatex was effectively dormant, reporting zero chargeable income in 2022 and 2023 and paying just 1,000 cedis of a 2,000-cedis tax assessment in 2024.
Procurement expert Kobina Atta-Bedu criticized the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) for approving the single-source contract without questioning Evatex’s lack of credentials or its single-employee status.
Evidence from the report indicates in the GACL board minutes that a different company, Devnest Systems, made the presentation for the contract and was initially approved to receive it.
Devnest, which demonstrated its capacity to the board, was inexplicably replaced by Evatex in the final contract, despite no record of Evatex presenting to the board.
A letter from Devnest’s CEO, Albert Adjei-Laryea, instructed GACL to award the contract to Evatex, admitting Devnest lacked the capacity to execute it.
Adjei-Laryea is listed as the project manager for the Evatex contract, suggesting personal benefit from the arrangement.
Backdated Documents and Complicity
Manasseh, in his report, states that the contract’s timeline raises further suspicions.
The PPA’s approval letter, dated December 2, 2024, was received by GACL on December 3.
Yet, the contract with Evatex was dated December 4, and the award letter was dated December 5, despite being drafted after a December 11 instruction from the Managing Director.
The inconsistencies may suggest possible backdating, potentially to preempt scrutiny from the incoming National Democratic Congress (NDC) government, which won the 2024 election.
The PPA’s role has also come under fire.
GACL’s request for single-source procurement falsely claimed Evatex had a “long and successful track record” and failed to provide required details on team composition and expertise.
Despite these omissions, the PPA approved the contract without question.
Financial Implications
Under the contract, Evatex is entitled to 15% of any revenue exceeding a 2022 benchmark of $781,000 per month from cargo handling.
However, GACL’s 2021 records show an average monthly cargo revenue of $909,000, meaning Evatex could claim a share of revenue without any intervention, as natural fluctuations could push earnings above the outdated benchmark.
Legal and Political Fallout
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has taken action, charging former GACL board chairman Paul Adom-Otchere, Otchere Kwame Baffour Awuah (GACL’s Group Executive for Commercial Services), and Albert Adjei-Laryea (Devnest’s CEO) in connection with the contract.
According to an update from the OSP on the social media platform X, Adom-Otchere has been unable to meet bail conditions.
The OSP is also investigating former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, declared wanted in relation to the broader SML scandal.
