A contract between the government of Ghana and U.K. security printer De La Rue to combat growing illicit trade in cigarettes has been suspended, according to Devdiscourse.
Ghana’s Revenue Authority signed a five-year contract with U.K. security printer De La Rue in September to create a track-and-trace excise tax stamp system as illicit tobacco products reportedly account for about 20 percent to 30 percent of total sales.
The deal, however, went under suspicion when De La Rue outsourced the track-and-trace system to Atos, which partners with the tobacco industry.
Another aspect was that the tender was awarded in breach of public procurement regulations regarding transparency. Due to these issues, the contract has now been suspended by Ghana’s Public Procurement Agency.