Anti-corruption campaigner, Vitus Azeem
says the debarment of Zoomlion Limited from applying for contracts sponsored by
the World Bank group in Liberia, is an embarrassment to Ghana as a country.
The company was cited in a World Bank
report to have paid bribes to facilitate contract execution and processing of
invoices in respect of an Emergency Monrovia Urban Sanitation (EMUS) project
being financed by the World Bank.
The World Bank has consequently
announced the suspension of the waste management giant which has its
Headquarters in Ghana, from executing projects financed by the bank.
Communication Manager at Zoomlion, Mr Robert Coleman said disciplinary action
had been taken against the Ghanaian official who paid the bribes.
But speaking Monday on the Super
Morning Show on Joy FM, Mr. Azeem said the fact that Zoomlion admitted to
paying bribes to secure contracts in Liberia, means the company "allows
and probably provides funds" for bribery. According to the Country
Director for Ghana Integrity Initiative - global anti-corruption agency - the
unnamed official who paid the bribe did not do so "from his personal
pocket".
He insisted that, the World Bank must
ensure that the Liberian government must ensure that proper action is taken
against the officials who benefited from the bribe. He said the development
lends credence to the fact that, that Zoolion may have been paying their way
through to securing government contracts which he described as embarrassing to
the leaders of the country coming on the heels of the 'dubious' manner in which
Zoomlion is awarded government contracts .
"It is not just an embarrassment to
Zoomlion, it is an embarrassment to this country and the leaders of this
country who have awarded these contracts and who are refusing to terminate
these contracts. "If they admitted doing it in Liberia...how sure are we
that this has not been happening in this country? Do we know what is involved?
Do we know the beneficiaries are," Mr. Azeem quizzed.
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