Professor Emeritus Stephen Adei, former Board Chairman of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), has declared his intent to stage a solo demonstration if Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) from India is allowed to handle domestic tax mobilization in Ghana.
He has labeled the deal as “immoral, unpatriotic and evil” and has urged the government to terminate it.
Prof. Adei expressed strong opposition to the contract, asserting that awarding it to TCS contradicts the results of a competitive bidding process that favored a Ghanaian company.
“The contract can only go to the Indian company on the basis of corruption and moral depravity,” he stated, urging Ghanaians to reject the deal.
Reports indicate that the Commissioner General of GRA, Julie Essiam, bypassed the board and all due processes to unilaterally award the domestic revenue mobilization contract to TCS and its Ghana-based partner, IPMC.
Essiam signed the contract in India, accompanied by GRA’s Head of Procurement, Daniel Foli, despite the competitive bidding process for the Integrated Tax Administration System (ITAS) contract being canceled on January 3, 2024.
The Public Procurement Authority (PPA) and the Central Tender Review Committee (CTRC) had previously rejected TCS/IPMC, citing their failure to meet GRA’s deployment experience requirements and the 30% local content test.
Additionally, TCS/IPMC’s financial proposal was the most expensive among the top contenders, with a bid of $69 million compared to Axon Information Systems’ $41 million and Persol and Atos’ $61 million.
GRA employees have raised concerns about the contract’s cost and its implications, questioning why the competitive bidding process was not restarted as mandated by law.
Prof. Adei revealed that Axon, a Ghanaian company, topped the initial competitive bids, making the decision to award the contract to TCS inexplicable and likely driven by corruption.
Prof. Adei criticized Julie Essiam’s role, highlighting her history of favoring foreign companies for GRA contracts. He recalled instances where she attempted to replace GCNET with Technobrain from Kenya and defended a budget to contract a Canadian company for domestic tax mobilization.
“Julie Essiam has always had an agenda to select foreign companies over very competent local companies for jobs at GRA,” Prof. Adei said. He questioned her qualifications for the role of Commissioner General, noting that her previous position did not involve direct taxation work.
Prof. Adei also pointed out the irregularities in appointments within GRA during his tenure, where positions were often filled based on connections rather than merit.
He called on well-meaning Ghanaians to oppose the TCS contract and support local companies capable of delivering such services.
Currently, Ghana’s domestic tax mobilization is handled by Axon Information System through the Ghana Integrated Tax Management and Information Systems (GITMIS), which has significantly exceeded revenue targets. P
rof. Adei emphasized the competence of other Ghanaian entities that participated in the bidding process and criticized TCS’s lack of a proven successful deployment record.
TCS has faced issues globally, including being fined $194 million in the USA for misappropriating trade secrets. Despite requests for a copy of the contract, Julie Essiam has kept it confidential, avoiding responses to queries about the deal.