Adom-Otchere Accused of Masterminding Dubious GACL Contract.
In a stunning revelation, investigative journalists from The Fourth Estate have uncovered a scheme at the Ghana Airport Company Limited (GACL) allegedly orchestrated by former Board Chairman, Paul Adom-Otchere, to award a lucrative contract to a company with no experience and a single employee, a move critics are calling an attempt to “dupe the state.”
The company, Evatex Logistics Limited, is now revealed to be a front for the controversial revenue assurance firm, SML.
The investigation, led by Manasseh Azure Awuni, Adwoa Adobea-Owusu, and Evans Aziamor-Mensah, details how the contract for revenue assurance and auditing was awarded to Evatex just three days before the December 2024 elections.
This move has raised serious questions about procurement procedures and conflicts of interest.
According to GACL Managing Director, Mrs. Yvonne Opare, the standard procedure for companies seeking to do business with the GACL begins with a proposal to management.
However, in the case of Evatex, the process was initiated directly at the board level. “Multiple sources at the Ghana Airports Company said the board chairman, Paul Adom-Otchere, who had used his TV programme to defend SML, brought Evatex,” the journalists reported.
When confronted with the allegation, Mr. Adom-Otchere neither confirmed nor denied bringing the company to the GACL board. In a WhatsApp message, he stated, “I do not clearly remember if I invited Devnest/Evatex to the meeting… If I did introduce Devnest/Evatex to the board, it would not be contrary to any practice.”
The investigators, however, assert that this was not merely a matter of a director summoning a meeting, but of a board chairman introducing an “unqualified company” that was subsequently recommended for a contract.
A Company with One Employee
Evatex Logistics Limited, a firm with a background in mining and stevedoring, won the contract despite having a single employee, according to documents obtained from the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT).
This stands in stark contrast to the GACL’s own Audit, Risk Management, and Compliance department, which has nine staff members. The GACL, under Mrs. Opare, justified the contract by claiming a lack of “internal capacity.”
The most explosive revelation, however, is the direct link between Evatex and the beleaguered SML, the company at the center of a US$141 million controversy involving the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
The investigation found that the two companies share the same beneficial owner, Evans Adusei, who is also the CEO of both firms.
Furthermore, the list of employees submitted by Evatex to execute the airport contract is comprised of notable SML managers and employees, including SML’s Head of Engineering, Hamdam Abubakar, and former top GRA officials now employed by SML.
“In essence, SML… sneaked into the airport disguised as Evatex,” the investigators concluded.
Ben Boakye, Executive Director for the Africa Centre for Energy Policy, described the arrangement as “bizarre,” questioning why a company that claims to be generating returns would “metamorphose into another company to go bid for another government project.”
While GACL’s Managing Director, Yvonne Opare, claimed ignorance of the SML-Evatex link, Mr. Adom-Otchere reportedly referred to Evatex as “the SML people” in a phone call with the journalists. This, along with his past public defense of SML, suggests a deep familiarity with the company.
The investigation also revealed that a different company, not Evatex, gave the presentation to the GACL board, yet the contract was ultimately awarded to SML’s sister company.
Evatex began its operations at the Kotoka International Airport in April 2025 and, as of now, has yet to be paid. The scandal continues to unfold, raising serious questions about governance, procurement, and accountability at Ghana’s state institutions.