Tension is building up at the corridors of the Tema Municipal Assembly (TMA) over the award of contracts valued at ?1.66 billion, alleged to have been made above the head of the assembly.

Information available to the Chronicle indicates that the administrative arm of the TMA headed by the Municipal Chief Executive, Samuel Evans Ashong-Narh, and his Co-ordinating Director, as well as the Finance Officer, between late last year and early this year, awarded three contracts which ran into ?1.66 billion without meeting the approval of the Municipal Tender Board.

The three contracts, fumigation of the Kpone refuse dump, computerisation of the billing system and revaluation of property in the municipality, were said to have been awarded to Vicombet Limited, A-Five Consultancy Limited and the Land Valuation Board respectively.

Insiders say the Kpone refuse dump contract, which was awarded back in December, last year was the first of the three contracts to be given out, adding that as at the time, questions over the legitimacy of the contracts were being raised, about ?810 million had already been spent on it.

Sources close to the TMA told Chronicle that the mode of the contract award is increasing tension at the TMA.

This, according to the source, also led to the appointment of a three-man Finance and Administrative Committee to investigate the contracts.

Chronicle learnt that the committee had Mr. Daniel Titus-Glover as its chairman, Mr. Noah Asomani, Mr. K.K Appiah and Mrs. Jennifer Ackor as members.

It was further learnt that the committee was mandated to, among others, ascertain whether the Municipal Tender Board awarded the contracts, the names of the contracts, duration and as to whether they were captured in the 2002 Budget estimates.

The findings have, however, revealed that the contract was indeed awarded without approval from the Municipal Tender Board.

It also confirmed insiders' report that the payment of the ?1.66 billion was made and that indeed the revaluation of property was not captured in the 2002 Budget estimates, even though it took off before the budget was approved in February, this year.

The three-man committee also found out that the payment of the money was charged to consultancy services which can be found on page 18 of the 2002 Budget Estimates.

In view of the irregularities, the committee recommended that the Finance Officer, Mr. Samuel Aryee, the Co-ordinating Director, Alhaji I.M.J Husseini, and the Municipal Chief Executive must be brought to book.

It further recommended that the Minister for Local Government & Rural Development, Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, and the Regional Coordinating Council must be notified to mete out appropriate sanctions to the offenders.

When Chronicle contacted the TMA to have the Chief Executive to comment on the issue, it was told that the boss was not within reach.

However, the Coordinating Director, after a fifth attempt by Chronicle to have an official at the assembly to comment, called to denounce the committee's report and maintain that the contracts were legally awarded.

And that what is being paraded as a committee report is a fallacy.

He, however, refused to speak further, his reason being that he was in an emergency meeting and asked that the Chronicle go over to the TMA.

Efforts by Chronicle to also get Hon. Baah-Wiredu to comment on the issue proved futile.