PwC report on SSNIT interlaced with baseless commentary - Benjamin Essuman

The report of Pricewaterhouse and Coopers (PwC) following months of investigations into the SSNIT Operational Business Software (OBS) project has come under serious scrutiny, following its release, yesterday.

In a sharp response to portions of the report, a youth activist and a columnist, Mr Benjamin Essuman took issues with inconsistencies in the report.

According to him PwC by their report blew hot and cold on the same matter of the conduct of the board, vis-a-vis the increasing cost of the OBS.

Benjamin Essuman in his analysis, a copy of which was sent to Ghanaweb could not understand why the report accused the management of having refused to share information with the board of trustees, yet the report went on further expecting the board to have demanded for accountability. That expectation, He found as untenable.

On the same issue he wondered how the uninformed board of SSNIT, which commissioned an audit into the OBS on November 24, 2016 could be accused of having gone to sleep.

He therefore called on the new board of SSNIT to implement proposals captured in the minutes of the previous board so as to help improve the operations of SSNIT, just as their call for an audit has led to the PwC report.

Below is the full text of the statement

19th April, 2018

HOW PwC EXPECTED THE UNINFORMED PROF ALABI BOARD TO KNOW IT ALL, IS AN ABUSE OF LOGIC

Yesterday, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Dr Kwame Addo Kufuor released a commissioned report by Pricewaterhouse and Coopers (PwC) which investigated the $72 million SSNIT OBS project.

It was gratifying to note that the PwC report amongst others stated: "THE MANAGEMENT DID NOT DISCLOSE THE FULL EXTENT OF THE ISSUES RELATED TO THE AUTOMATION TO THE BOARD".

The PwC went on to give an example of an assessment report that was dated 31st May, 2015, but was never fully disclosed to the Prof Joshua Alabi board.



"EVEN THOUGH THERE WERE SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES WITH THE OBS" the reported stated "ON 24TH NOVEMBER, 2016, MANAGEMENT PRESENTED TO THE BOARD THAT THE ICT INITIATIVES WERE ON-GOING".

In a surprising turn of events and capturing the uninformed position of the Board, PwC said: "THE BOARD DID NOT APPEAR TO DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY FROM MANAGEMENT".

This shocking diversion by PwC, after being paid $500,000 by the Dr Kwame Addo Kufuor SSNIT Board, flies in the face of logic and reasoning.

It will be a miracle for anyone to suggest that a Board which had been kept in the dark by its management, should have gone demanding a shutdown of the project.

After alleging that the board appeared not to have demanded accountability, PwC ironically stated that the same board had by a directive "ISSUED ON 24TH NOVEMBER, 2016," commissioned "AN AUDIT OF THE PROJECT."



This inconsistent position of PwC only exposes the fact that the auditors interlaced their report with fact-less commentary, rendering that portion of their report unwholesome.

In the face of documents and board meetings PwC were clear, that the board was not fully aware of the challenges facing the automation program, yet, the same PwC expected that board to have acted in quick time. This means PwC expected the board members to be magicians capable of detecting an error which was not before them.

Furthermore, it is questionable to say that the Board that thought it wise to, and accordingly, commissioned an audit of the OBS, was a board that did not demand accountability. How absurd!!

It is worthy to note that, the Dr Kwame Addo Kuffuor Board of Trustees at SSNIT have still not cancelled the OBS project even as the report claims the former board should have done that perhaps.

It is my considered view that since the November meeting of the Prof Joshua Alabi board commissioned the audit, and the December and early January meetings were the handing over meetings, it was the responsibility of the Dr. Kwame Addo Kuffuor board to ensure that the audit is carried out in the proceeding month of January or even February.

To have waited until the middle of the year before contracting PwC, to audit the OBS and take away half a million dollars, is rather an indictment on the new board.

I will strongly recommend that the Dr Kwame Addo Kuffuor board quickly go ahead to implement all the decisions taken by the former board, instead of spending the limited time on a smear campaign against the Prof Joshua Alabi board members.

Signed ........................... BENJAMIN ESSUMAN 19th April, 2018 Accra