Agenda 111: Architects lament government in favour of Adjaye Associates

The Ghana Institute of Architects (GIA) has accused the government of neglecting other firms in favour of Adjaye Associates to design hospitals for the Agenda 111 project under processes violating public procurement regulations.

While admitting that Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663) allowed for sole sourcing and restricted tendering by the government, they believed that the contract handed to David Adjaye’s firm did not meet the requirements for resorting to such procurement method.

Sir David Adjaye’s firm has also been tasked with the architectural designs of the proposed National Cathedral.

The Honorary Secretary of the GIA, Augustus Richardson, argued that in the case of the award of the hospital contract, the government was unfair to other local architects.

In the case of restricted tendering, section 39 of the Act provides that tenders from the suppliers and contractors who can provide the services should be invited, and selection done in a non-discriminatory manner.

In addition, where a public entity engages in restricted tendering, it shall cause a notice of the selective-tendering award to be published in the Public Procurement Bulletin to ensure effective competition.

Regarding sole sourcing, section 40 of the Act provides that services are only available from a particular supplier or contractor, or if a particular supplier or contractor has exclusive rights regarding the service, and no reasonable alternative or substitute exists.

In an interview with The Ghana Report on Thursday, August 26, Mr Richardson said that the government hindered other architects from bidding for the contract.

He pointed out that the development was injurious to other architects who have equal capacity to deliver.

For him, the service contract award “is supposed to be based on competition and fairness, and once that does not happen, we, as participants in the economy and an institute of architects, must be able to say something concerning this. So let us do the right thing.”

“It cannot be a matter of government looking down on local architects. We are asking that people treat the professionals fairly. If not, it starts to play into corruption and collusion. Let us stop this, and someone has to call it out”.

Mr Richardson noted that the continuous trend of sole sourcing and restricted tendering could lead to court actions, which would be detrimental to the government.

“If we continue on this path, then it is not good for the country because we are talking about litigation and sanctioning the PPA for what it was set up to do,” he emphasised.

The GIA has since appealed to the government to ensure that all architects are given an equal platform for public bidding processes for contracts.

“We can only appeal to the government. Architects are also people in the community who have a passion to build the environment. They must be given a fair opportunity, and that is what we are crying for,” he stressed.

The development has triggered discussions with several comments against the government’s action.

A Ghanaian architect, Tony Asare, who has also expressed his frustration over the decision to award the contract to Mr Adjaye, had highlighted similar concerns raised by the GIA.

He said, “We are seriously concerned with the consistent abuse of Section 40 Procurement Act without conscience and no attempt to equitably and legally go through the process for local architects who also make a living. There are about 1,200 architects in Ghana, and we are not incompetent.”

The Honorary Vice President of IMANI Centre for Policy and Education, Bright Simons, has also jumped into the discussion.

He claims the contract was worth $6million.

However, the government is yet to make the details of the contract public.

Source: Francis Ntow || The Ghana Report