COVID testing at KIA: Ghana gained only $6m while Frontiers earned $84m – Report

Data provided by the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) has showed that the controversial Frontiers Healthcare Services Limited earned a whopping $84 million from conducting COVID-19 related arrival testing at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).

According to a JoyNews report, the company generated an additional revenue of $3.5 million (GH¢29 million) from departure testing within the same period at the KIA.

The development comes after the year-long legal battle between Accra-based JoyNews and the GACL. The media organisation had initiated the Right to Information Act to ascertain the revenue gains of Frontiers after it was awarded a contract at the KIA under rather opaque circumstances.

The GACL had earlier indicated they could not provide the necessary information as requested with the explanation that, “passengers paid directly to Frontiers Healthcare, providers of the service.”

Following this debacle between JoyNews and the GACL, it has now emerged that Ghana only received a mere sum of under $6 million from COVID-19 arrival testing while it also received $180,000 (GH¢1.5 million) from departure testing during the same period.

The uneven revenue distribution shows that Frontiers earned over 90 percent of the revenue while retaining 92 percent of the income accrued from arrival testing at the KIA. Frontiers also earned 94 percent of the revenue from departure testing within the period of its contract with the GACL.

This meant that Ghana gained a meagre share of the contract earnings representing less than 10 percent of the total revenue. The country also earned just 7 percent from arrival testing and 6 percent from departure testing.

Meanwhile, top government officials including the Foreign Affairs Minister, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu and others have all denied knowledge as to how Frontiers Health Services was awarded the contract for COVID-19 testing at the airport.

This has led North Tongu MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa who has called for an impartial audit of the COVID-19 testing agreement between Frontiers Health Services and Ghana Airports Company Limited.

MA/NOQ

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