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Akufo-Addo’s Minister caught in conflict? – JoyNews investigations
JoyNews’ investigations have revealed how a company linked to the Deputy Sanitation Minister, Amidu Issahaku Chinnia, and registered in the names of his brother, cousin, and personal driver won government contracts at the Upper West Regional Coordinating Council during his tenure as Deputy Regional Minister.
The Batuowiisi Company Limited was set up in 2017 barely a month after his appointment and in the same year won a 2.6 million cedi Planting for Food and Jobs contract.
They were again awarded a 12.6-million-cedi road contract in 2019 by the Upper West Regional Coordinating Council.
Documents sighted by JoyNews show that on 22nd July 2019, Batuowiisi Company Limited was awarded a contract by the Upper West Regional Coordinating Council to rehabilitate a 5.7-kilometer selected town roads in Tumu. The contract sum was over 12 million cedis.
The Batuowiisi Company Limited was supposed to have gone to the site on 22nd November 2019, the firm issued its notice to commence work on the same day for commencement on 5th December 2019 and complete the road projects on 4th June 2021.
Eight weeks after the date of commencement, the company failed to mobilize to the site to commence work, contrary to its programme of work.
When JoyNews visited Tumu, the bridges constructed by the contractor remain flooded and partially buried under weeds. The culverts are choked with silt and weeds. It has left in its trail dissatisfaction and agony to the many traders who ply their trade in Tumu in the Sissala East district. The Upper West Department of Urban Roads office pegs progress of work at less than two percent.
Nashiru Nashara, a trader says the current state of the road is affecting their business.
This assertion was corroborated by a middle-aged trader, Mumuni Maria. She is appalled by the state of the roads and wants swift government intervention.
This road contract was awarded to Batuowiisi Company Limited barely three months after the roads and highways ministry issued the company with a certificate to commence work.
According to records from the Registrar General’s department, the Batuowiisi Company Limited, was set up on the 12th of April, 2017 barely a month after parliament’s appointments committee approved the nomination of then deputy Upper West Regional Minister, Amidu Issahaku Chinnia.
The company directors were Abdul Bazak Chinnia, the Deputy Minister’s brother, Olantunji Amuda, his cousin and Dimbie Yahaya, his driver.
Executive Director of Community Development Alliance Ghana, Salifu Issifu Kanton, has been advocating for the rehabilitation of the selected town roads. As an indigene of Tumu, he says the frustrations of the people are evident in their disappointment in successive government.
But, according to him, the state of the roads and the circumstances surrounding how the contract was awarded raises concerns of conflict of interest.
He said the selected town road earmarked for rehabilitation is a game changer in opening up Tumu township to business.
Project Manager, Alhaji Keba Mahama, is the contractor who worked on the bridges and culverts. He says the contract was sublet to him by Dimbie Yahaya, the driver of the deputy minister. He says work has stalled because of funds. But, that was not the promise made to him when he was first contacted to take up the project.
When JoyNews contacted the Roads and Highways Ministry for details on the project, Acting Chief Director, Dr. Abass Awulu, said the contract was awarded through open competitive tender and was advertised in the Ghanaian Times.
Three firms bought the tender documents and submitted same on the closing date. On the question of how a company with no track record in road construction was awarded this contract, he said the evaluation of tenders went through post qualification exercise at the end of which the lowest evaluated tender, the Batuowiisi Company Limited, was recommended for the award by the Upper West Regional Entity Tender Committee.
“The process followed for awarding this contract was the national competitive tendering procedures as prescribed by the public procurement act, 2003.”
“The threshold for awarding this contract was within that of the Upper West Regional Entity Committee and the Upper West Regional Tender Review Committee. On whether it was referred to the procurement authority for approval, the ministry said Act 663 does not prescribe reference for approval in national competitive tenders.”
There is even more, a memo obtained from the ministry of food and agriculture dated 24th February 2020 said the Batuowiisi Company limited owned by the Deputy Upper West Minister accessed farm inputs under the planting for food and jobs campaign.
The memo reads that per the arrangement, the company paid GHc1,330,000 of the cost of the subsidized inputs leaving an outstanding balance of Ghc1,330,000 to be paid after harvesting of farm produce. But, several reminders from the acting Director of Crop Services at the agric ministry, Seth Osei-Akoto, for the company to pay the outstanding balance proved futile.
The memo addressed to the Upper West Regional Minister, Dr. Hafiz Bin-Salih, was for him to impress on his then-deputy to pay the balance owed the Agric Ministry. When JoyNews caught up with the Director of Crop Services, Seth Osei-Akoto, he said the ministry has engaged with the Deputy Sanitation minister and Member of Parliament for Sissala East to structure a payment plan to offset the outstanding balance of over 1.3 million cedis.
Currently, Amidu Issahaku Chinnia is the deputy sanitation minister and MP for Sissala East.
The big questions are why would the memo address him as the owner of Batuowiisi Company limited? How did his driver, cousin and brother form a company, which secured a road contract with the Upper West Coordinating Council when he was the deputy minister for the same region?
When JoyNews contacted Amidu Issahaku Chinnia, he admitted that he knows the directors of the Batuowiisi Company Limited, but categorically denied influencing any of the processes leading to the award of the contracts.
The deputy minister also pointed out that when the company was bidding for a road contract at the Upper West Regional Coordinating Council he was not aware of the directors of the company. This was two clear years away from when the Batuowiisi Company won a contract under planting for food and jobs campaign at the Agriculture Ministry. The ministry had linked him to the Batuowiisi Company Limited.
Responding to agric ministry’s claims that he is the owner of the company, he indicated that his brother, cousin and his driver who are the directors of the company have written to the ministry to correct the error in that claim. But, that evidence is yet to be submitted to the news team after we placed a request to him.
A tax profile from the Ghana Revenue Authority sighed by the JoyNews Investigative team revealed that in 2018 the Batuowiisi Company Limited paid tax of 600 cedis, in 2019, they paid 600 cedis, in 2020 they paid 3,488 cedis with their tax credits but there is an outstanding tax of 3,250 cedis the company was supposed to pay in 2021.
It has however not paid PAYE for its directors from October 2019 to October 2021. A tax audit of the company’s contracts from 2017 to 2021 by the GRA further revealed that the company is expected to pay a payable tax of 938,493 cedis.
Touching on the GRA tax audit, he said the conclusion that the company was not paying the proper taxes is questionable because the directors of the company say they paid taxes at source.
Source: www.myjoyonline.com
The Global Network of Export-Import Banks and Development Finance Institutions (G-NEXID) successfully held its sixth (6th) Exchange Programme, hosted by the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) Bank in Accra from March 22 to 23 March.
The event brought together member institutions, partner organisations and Ghanaian public entities to advance dialogue on South-South trade, investment and development finance, while also creating opportunities for knowledge-sharing and institutional cooperation.
Organised as a capacity-building and networking platform, the 2026 edition of the G-NEXID Exchange focused on GEXIM’s experience in developing innovative solutions to promote intra-African and extra-African trade.
It also highlighted trade and investment opportunities in Ghana, particularly in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and broader national development initiatives.
The Exchange Programme forms part of G-NEXID’s mandate to foster cooperation among export-import banks and development finance institutions in support of South-South trade and investment.
This 6th edition follows earlier successful programmes hosted by India Exim Bank (2016), BNDES (2017), Indonesia Eximbank (2018), Afreximbank (2019) and Saudi EXIM Bank (2025).
On the first day, participants were presented with G-NEXID institutional information and received an update on the Network’s 2026 work programme.
There were a series of substantive presentations, including an overview of the Ghanaian economy by the Ministry of Finance, with particular attention to debt-related challenges; a presentation by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), on investment opportunities in the country; and institutional presentations by GEXIM and Development Bank Ghana (DBG) on their respective mandates, initiatives, products and services.
Discussions during the sessions underscored strong interest in sector-focused webinars and business dialogues, particularly in agribusiness value chains such as poultry and rice.
Participants also emphasized the importance of continued information exchange and the sharing of best practices, especially in the area of guarantees.
The second day opened with a presentation on the 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Programme, a national economic transformation strategy launched by President John Dramani Mahama in July 2025.
The initiative aims to enhance economic productivity through continuous industrial activity, accelerated export development and strategic import substitution.
As the programme is expected to mobilise both private and development capital, it presents concrete opportunities for G-NEXID members in areas such as co-financing, guarantees, trade finance and technical cooperation.
The programme also featured institutional presentations by guest organisations, namely the African Guarantee and Economic Cooperation Fund (FAGACE) and the West African Development Bank (BOAD), which shared their mandates, initiatives, products and services.
Following these exchanges, the G-NEXID Secretariat held bilateral discussions with both institutions as part of the Network’s ongoing membership drive.
Participants further benefited from a presentation by the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB), as well as a showcase of GEXIM’s key pipeline projects.
On the margins of the Exchange Programme, G-NEXID members also held their 20th Annual General Assembly Meeting to review progress and discuss strategic priorities.
Following the event, participants joined the GEXIM@10 International Conference, held from March 24-25, 2026 under the theme, “A Decade of Enabling Export Trade and Industrial Transformation: Resetting GEXIM for the Next Frontier.”
The conference provided an important platform for exploring how Ghana can strengthen its transition from a primary commodity exporter to a more competitive player in value-added trade and industrial development.
Source – G-NEXID
President John Dramani Mahama on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, signed five bills including three amendment bills passed by Parliament into law.
They are: Security and Intelligence Agencies Bill, 2025; University of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences Bill, 2025; Ghana Deposit Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2025; Growth and Sustainability Levy (Amendment) Bill, 2026; and Education Regulatory Bodies (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
In a brief remark after assenting to the bills, President Mahama explained that the Security and Intelligence Agencies Act, 2026, scraps the Office of Minister of National Security and frees the President’s to appoint any Minister to supervise the security agencies.
He said it also reverses the name of the office of National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), to the original name, Bureau of National Intelligence, (BNI).
This the President said, addresses the confusion between that security agency and a well-known Ghanaian financial institution, the National Investment Bank.
President Mahama also noted that the University of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences Act, 2026, establishes another University in the Eastern Region, at Bonsu, with three campuses – the main campus at Bonsu in the Eastern Region, with the second campus to be cited at Ohawu in the Oti Region.
The third, the Presdient assed will be located at Acherensua in the Ahafo Region.
Touching on the Amendment to the Growth and Sustainability Levy Act, the President said, “As you’re aware, the act was amended to increase it from 1% to 3%, and so this act reduces it again. That is the levy on mining companies. It reduces it again to 1%, because of the introduction of the sliding scale of royalties.”
He also spoke to the passage of the Government Education Regulatory Bodies Amendment Act, emphasising that amends Act 1023 to grant greater flexibility to private tertiary institutions and the option to Charter.
The Ghana Deposit Protection Amendment Act, the President concluded, is an amendment to an original act that was supposed to guarantee deposits held in commercial banks or financial institutions.
It basically expands protection to include mobile money wallets and other digital platforms, ensuring a wider scope of digital financial assets are secured.
The signing ceremony, was witnessed by the Clerk of Parliament, Mr. Ebenezer Ahumah Djietror, Secretary to the President, Dr Callistus Mahama, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Dr Dominic Akrutinga Ayine, Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, Joyce Bawa Mogtari, a Senior Presidential Advisor and a Special Aide to the President, Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, and the Vice President, Professor Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang.
