One of the requirements for winning a government contract was that, a company must have a SSNIT clearance certificate. Busy Internet did not have this because it owed its employees over GHS3 million in SSNIT payments between December 2018 and 2022.

In 2018, Busy Internet was a company in severe distress. As an internet service provider struggling against industry giants, it faced dwindling revenue, increasing liabilities, and growing staff discontent.

Adding to its troubles, the company owed millions of cedis in unpaid taxes and social security contributions.

It seemed imminent that the company might shut down. At this critical juncture, staff were informed that Busy Internet had been acquired by Aguila Holdings.

A few weeks later, they were further astonished and delighted to learn that Busy Internet had secured a major government contract to supply Wi-Fi services to secondary schools and Ghana Education Service offices nationwide.

This contract was particularly surprising because Busy Internet should not have been eligible to bid. With its significant tax liabilities and unpaid social security contributions, the company lacked the necessary tax and Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) clearance certificates, mandatory for bidding on government contracts.

Despite these clear disqualifications, Busy Internet secured the multi-million government contract through a sole-sourcing arrangement.

A former staff member of Busy Internet, intimately familiar with the contract but requesting anonymity, stated, “What I know for sure is that during that time we did not have a SSNIT clearance certificate nor a GRA tax clearance certificate,” to The Fourth Estate.

Moreover, Busy Internet was not registered with the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) as a supplier, contrary to PPA procurement rules, as confirmed by searches on the PPA website.

The five-year contract was awarded without the required parliamentary approval under Ghana’s Public Financial Management Act.

“It was good news,” says a former employee of Busy Internet who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of victimisation. “At the end, we were all of this conviction that the MOE [Wi-Fi] contract was going to end the woes of Busy Internet. We were sinking as a company and salaries were not being paid.”

The parent company of Busy Internet and Lifted Logistics, CEO of Aguila Holdings, Horpe Omotayo-Ojo, assured staff that their jobs were secure and efforts would be made to pay off Busy Internet’s debts and restore profitability. However, these promises were unfulfilled, and many employees were laid off as the company began installing internet connectivity devices in senior high schools across the country.

Despite being considered more suitable than industry leaders like MTN, which had just been licensed to provide 4G internet services, and Surfline Ghana Limited, another 4G internet service provider, Busy Internet secured the contract.

The Free Senior High School Coordinator, William Darkwa, explained that the major players were not interested due to concerns about delayed government payments.

After securing the contract, Busy Internet subcontracted MTN Ghana and AirtelTigo to provide the services it had agreed to supply. Initially, the Wi-Fi system worked, and some schools had internet access. However, connectivity issues soon arose. The Fourth Estate found that out of 50 schools visited in 2023, 48 had been without internet for several months. Complaints to Busy Internet’s customer service were largely unaddressed, leaving schools frustrated and angry.

The investigation revealed that Busy Internet, despite being unqualified, was awarded a major government contract through sole-sourcing. The initial contract cost between Busy Internet and the Ministry of Education was GHS84.4 million, with the Ministry also obligated to pay a monthly recurrent cost of GHS6.4 million for internet connectivity to schools and educational offices.

The Wi-Fi for schools project fulfilled a 2016 manifesto promise by the governing New Patriotic Party to provide free Wi-Fi for senior secondary and tertiary institutions nationwide. As of February 2024, over 1,000 institutions were connected to the internet under this contract.

The Fourth Estate’s investigation revealed that internet services to these schools and offices were unreliable, with many lacking internet for months, while the Ministry of Education paid GHS56 million for services barely provided.

In May 2023, the PPA approved a name change from Busy Internet to Lifted Logistics Ghana, although Lifted Logistics was not a licensed internet service provider at the time. The PPA also approved an increase in the monthly recurring cost from GHS6.5 million to GHS11.5 million, nearly doubling the government’s cost for a poorly delivered service.

“If it is a joint venture and there is a new entity borne out of this joint venture, you need to have the mandatory requirements,” Mr Sarpong said. “There is a clause that if you are subcontracting any portion of this contract, you need to inform the principal so that due diligence is done on the subcontractor to check if everything of theirs is good.”

Former employees raised concerns about the transfer of Busy Internet’s license to another entity, but the NCA confirmed in March 2023 that Busy Internet’s license had not been transferred or reassigned. Procurement Consultant Collins Agyemang Sarpong noted that sub-contracting to an unregistered internet service provider raised further questions about the arrangement’s legitimacy.

The Fourth Estate contacted the PPA for clarification on approving a multi-million contract for an unqualified company and the subsequent increase in monthly costs but received no response.