Ghana earned under $7m while Frontiers Healthcare Services gained a whooping $84m in COVID testing at KIA
The extent of the revenue imbalance that has favored Frontiers Healthcare Services has been revealed following a year-long legal battle.
Despite the fact that the airport company stated they couldn’t provide the information in response to Accra-based JoyNews‘ initial request for the amounts generated and distributed among the parties because “passengers paid directly to Frontiers Healthcare, the providers of the service, the airport company noted that they could not provide the information. “.
The Airport Company has finally given JoyNews data that shows Frontiers earned an impressive $84 million from arrival testing and an additional GHS 29 million ($3.5 million) from departure testing.
In stark contrast, Ghana received just under $6 million from arrival testing and GHS 1.5 million ($180,000) from departure testing during the same period.
This uneven distribution of revenue reveals that Frontiers received over 90% of the profits, keeping 92 percent of the proceeds from arrival testing and a sizeable 94 percent from departure testing.
Ghana, on the other hand, received a pitiful share of the profits, accounting for less than 10% of the total income, with only 7% of the revenue coming from arrival testing and just 6% from departure testing.
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the ranking member of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee, submitted a motion to the legislature calling for an impartial audit of the contentious testing agreement between Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) and Frontiers in response to the significant disparity in revenue allocation.
Critics contend that Ghana’s meager contribution shows missed opportunities to distribute funds that could have strengthened the country’s response to the pandemic, particularly in light of the economic hardships brought on by COVID-19.
