Africa Education Watch has blown the cover of the government of Ghana over its procurement of 853,000 pieces of Kapek Mathematical Sets Instruments at Gh¢75 each, revealing that Liberia and Sierra Leone which procured the same Kapek Mathematical sets Instruments from the same company even at retail price got it cheaper than what Ghana got for wholesale of 853,000 pieces, MyNewsGh.com has filed.
In a rather dramatic twist, Africa Education Watch revealed that the actual price of the Mathematical Sets is Gh¢93 and not Gh¢75 as the Ministry of Education claimed.
According to Kofi Asare who is Executive Director of the Africa Education Watch, the actual price of the Kapek Mathematical sets procured by Ghana on sole-sourcing basis was higher than the Gh¢75 government announced because the 75 cedis excluded the tax exemption of $3.6million granted to the contractor, one Kwadwo Darko-Mensah.
As an aside, MyNewsGh.com was informed Mr. Darko-Mensah was allegedly “fronting” for a Jubilee House big man’s wife (whose name we withhold for now). According to our source, the arrest of Mr. Darko-Mensah was not because he failed to deliver the Mathematical sets on schedule or in full as was widely reported, but rather, his arrest was ordered by the person he was fronting for because he (Darko-Mensah) was not “fully cooperative” after the contract money hit his account. MyNewsGh.com intends to serialize this scandal further.
But back to Africa Education Watch, Mr. Kofi Asare said it is “very funny” for Education Ministry to justify the price of the mathematical sets using Kapek scientific calculator as decoy, as the same package costs far less in Liberia and Sierra Leone which also operate under WAEC.
Read the Africa Education Watch Executive Director’s full comment below:
“I see lots of desperate propaganda by party first citizens to decieve some Ghanaians into believing that the Kapek Mathematical Instruments ‘Napo Calculator’ is Rocket Science, just to justify its inflated price. That’s very funny!
The difference between KAPEK and the real scientific calculator is, KAPEK has no memory and cannot be programmed; Just to prevent students from putting stuff on then into the exam room. That is all.
So it is cheaper than the regular scientific calculator which is programmable. As for the plastic mathset it comes with, we know the price. Just go to Makola. Its less than GH 20. Infact, a similar KAPEK Mathematical Instrument sells for $10 In Liberia and $12 in Sierra Leone at retail; not wholesale. (Both WAEC member countries)
This Blue Grass Company bought ours at international distributor bulk order quantity of 850,000 and still supplied to government at $17 (inclusive the taxes*)
NB: The unit cost is not GH 75; its GH 93. The GH 17 million tax exemption must be added to the GH 63 million and divided by the 853,000 pieces.
And if we wanted Value For Money, why was it sole sourced? Perhaps, due to the high prices some intended to force on us. Because it would have been far cheaper if companies like Kingdom Books and Stationery, KRIF, EPP etc were allowed to compete the unknown Bluegrass Ltd. Or better still, at International Competitive Tender, the Key Distributor for KAPEK in West Africa, who is based in Nigeria could have given us proper VFM.
Also on the WAEC sanction alibi; Please WAEC never demanded of Ghana to purchase KAPEK for its students. WAEC member countries met and recommended non-programmable calculators for themselves as far back as 2014. It was only a recommendation of persuasive effect to reduce exam malpractices. In Nigeria, Liberia and Sierra Leone, some parents purchase these non-programmable instruments them for their wards on the open market. There are other brands of non-programmable scientific calculators. Ghana rather approached WAEC in early 2020 for their ‘non-objection’ to purchase KAPEK for her students because there was cash to be spent. The impression being created that, WAEC virtually ‘ordered’ or ‘required’ of Ghana to purchase KAPEK for WASSCE 2020 at all cost is fallacious. Afterall, on the list of exam malpractice factors, calculators would rank last or may not rank at all, in the midst of leakages within the question and marking value chain.
And what could be the reason the Ministry kept the contract secret from us?
Source: MyNewsGh.com
