The Minister-Designate for Roads and Highways, Kwame Agbodza, has disclosed that the controversial E-Gate system at Kotoka International Airport (KIA) does not have a formal contract.
During his parliamentary vetting on Monday, January 20, Agbodza raised concerns about the project’s procurement process and financial specifics. The project was projected to cost $240 million.
The E-Gate system was implemented to upgrade operations at Ghana’s primary international airport. However, the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) refuted claims regarding the $240 million expense in a statement on December 19, 2024, labeling them as inaccurate.
Mr. Agbodza, the Member of Parliament for Adaklu, noted that the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has been developing a comparable system as part of its modernization initiatives. He mentioned that the E-Gate was initially intended as an additional feature without incurring extra costs to the government.
“If the government had listened to what I was saying, it wouldn’t have led to the embarrassment we saw at the airport when the former Vice President was trying to commission it,” Agbodza said.
He further revealed, “There is no contract for the E-Gate. There is no contract for the $1.7 million they were talking about. When I started raising concerns, the GCAA was already implementing a similar project, and the E-Gate was supposed to be free. Later, a memo was hurriedly prepared for it.”
This discovery prompts questions about transparency in the procurement process and casts uncertainty on the project’s decision-making process.
