Government has awarded a GHC100million contract to a company established less than a year to supply 150 watts LED street lights.

The company Imperial World Ventures registered on the 20 April 2017 was selected to execute the contract through a restrictive tender process. It belongs to Stella Wilson, wife of NPP Member of Parliament for Assin Central Ken Agyapong.

This came to the fore Thursday when the Energy Minister Peter Amewu appeared before Parliament to answer a question standing in the name of the Member of Parliament for Ashaiman Ernest Norgbey.

Mr Norgbey in his question challenged the decision to award the contract to the company which had been formed some few months earlier and without recourse to open competitive bidding.

In his response, however, Mr Amewu defended the process stating: “The Ministry obtained approvals from the Public Procurement Authority and the Central Tender Rating Committee prior to the award of this contract.”

Asked if due diligence including post qualification analysis and evaluation of the company was done before the contract was awarded, Mr Amewu said: “The Ministry has a means of hiring contractors that undertake projects as and when the Ministry determines the availability of such projects and that the Procurement Authority is the responsible Authority to grant the necessary approval for such process.

“The Authority also has the mandate to investigate and find out the competence in terms of qualification, capabilities of some of these companies. I can assure the House...that all these were taken into the account both the Ministry and the Authority in the award of the contract.”

But in an interview with Starr News, Mr Norgbey described the Minister’s answers and defense of the country was unsatisfactory.

“I’m not satisfied with the answer and I’ll never be satisfied with the answers,” he stated.

The company is said to be owned by wife of maverick MP Kennedy Agyapong.