Mangowa Ghanney, a former director, legal division of the Ministry of Finance has refuted claims suggesting that Databank has been favoured and handed contracts from the ministry without merit.

Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has recently come under fire for allegedly using his office to make money through Databank at the expense of the government.

According to Ghanney, all contracts awarded to Databank prior to Ken Ofori-Atta’s tenure was based on merit, adding that there was no conflict of interest.

Speaking to sit-in host of The Asaase Breakfast Show on Monday (21 November), Ghanney said: “And as far as I know, nothing has ever been handed over to Databank on the silver platter. Databank has always had to compete with any other institution to be part of what the Ministry of Finance does.”

Encouraging local participation

“Ministry of Finance has for a few years now, had a policy to encourage local participation, and to do this we always tendered when there were projects available, and we evaluated and picked the best responses, and Databank happened to be one of those companies that we picked.

“And this is not only during this Finance Minister’s tenure but, this was before this minister’s tenure,” Ghanney stated. “The Ministry of Finance has worked with Databank, and we have worked with them and with other local financial institutions because they presented themselves as able to present the task.”