GRi in Court Ghana 06 - 07 - 2001
Leebda Corporation exists - Selormey
Lawyers advised to take notes in long hand
Court Acquits defilement suspect
Accra (Greater Accra) 06 July 2001
A former Deputy Minister of Finance, Victor Selormey on Thursday July 5, told a Fast Track High Court in Accra that Leebda Corporation of Texas was duly registered and, therefore, exists.
Selormey said Leebda Corporation was registered in April 1995 in the State of Texas.
The former Deputy Minister, who was opening his defence in the Court Computerisation Project case, said the corporation was registered in the name of Law, Economics, Engineering, Business and Development Associates.
Selormey is charged with conspiracy with Dr Frederick Owusu Boadu, a Ghanaian consultant in the United States, to have fraudulently cause the loss of 1.3 million dollars to the state and defrauding by false pretences.
He has pleaded not guilty and is on a 1.5 billion-cedi bail, with two sureties to be justified.
The court is presided over by Justice Sam G. Baddoo, an Appeal Court Judge sitting with additional responsibility as a High Court Judge.
Selormey, led in evidence by his counsel, Mr Barimah Manu and Mr Kwaku Baah, said the Legal Sector Advisory Committee invited six short listed companies including Leebda Corporation, Owusu Agyapong and Company and VMS International to have discussions on the contract.
According to Selormey, the Legal Sector Co-ordinating Committee which was basically set up to oversee the court computerisation project submitted that a joint company, Leebda Corporation and Owusu Agyapong Company came out as the best bidder.
He said the committee subsequently invited the two companies for negotiations.
At this point the accused tried to tender a copy of the negotiation document in evidence, but the Director of Public Prosecution, Mr Osafo Sampong, opposed it.
Selormey explained that he asked for the original to be sent, but he was told that it was impossible to do so.
Defence Counsel said the document was notarised, it was sworn, and that there was a stamp affixed on it from the County Clerk of Texas in the United States.
Counsel also reiterated that it was denied an earlier request for Dr Boadu's evidence to be taken on commission.
The DPP argued that the document was not authenticated and that there should be a seal embossed on it.
He said the document should have come from a company and not Dr Boadu. "We maintain that Leebda does not exist and therefore the document should not be entertained".
Ruling on the submission, the court said it has already told defence counsel that it did not have the power to instruct for the evidence from far away Texas, which is not within the jurisdiction of the court.
Justice Baddoo said section 161 of the Evidence Decree states that: "official document must be signed and sealed by a diplomatic personnel."
He also cited Section 149 of the Evidence Decree, which states that the document could only be tendered by an official of a business company and, therefore, rejected the verbal application by counsel to tender the document.
Selormey, who said he was familiar with the private sector development project, told the court that it was to address specific problems and bottlenecks pertaining to certain public institutions, which provided service to the private sector.
Selormey said there were six components of the court computerisation project. They included the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSRI), which was designed to commercialise research in development activities and the EMPRETEC designed to help small and medium scale enterprises in management and accounting services to enhance their businesses.
He said the Ghana Standard Board (GSB) was designed to commercialise its services to obtain international standards, the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology was to establish a design centre to help small and medium scale enterprises to improve upon the design and quality of their products so as to make them more acceptable to the international market.
The accused said the Legal Sector Component was designed to conduct six studies on various aspects of the legal sector, production and dissemination of legal information, and electronic courtroom recordings.
Selormey said he negotiated the contract in Ghana and in Washington with the International Development Association. He also signed the contract on behalf of Ghana.
He said the contract sum of the project was 820,000 dollars for a year.
The Project Manager was Mr Paul Asemeni of the Legal Sector of the Ministry of Finance who co-ordinated the affairs of the contract.
Selormey said there were two project managers during the course of the project between 1995 and 1998.
He added that Mr Asemeni left for further studies in 1998 and while waiting to appoint a new manager, one Ken was appointed without his knowledge to manage the project. He got to know and, therefore, asked him to hand over to the Chief Director, until the new Project Manager, Mr Frank Aborkliwah was appointed.
He said the project ended last month.
According to Mr Selormey, the Ministry of Finance supervised the project and it has created more user-friendly development for the private sector and to promote it as the engine of growth.
The former deputy minister said when Leebda won the bid it approached the World Bank to discuss the project with Mr Patrick Conolly, Project Co-ordinator of the Word Bank, of the bank's interest in implementing the result of the study.
He said the World Bank informed Leebda that its roles could not permit it to accept both the study and the implementation of the contract.
Selormey said this was communicated to Mr Asemeni in Accra who also conveyed the message in a letter to Leebda.
Selormey said Leebda opted to wait for the implementation stage and the choice was communicated to Mr Asemeni in a letter, adding that the contract was to last for five months.
He denied that he did not authorise the payment on the contract of the study at the ECOBANK.
He said he was frustrated by the slow process of the implementation of the project and that various missions from the World Bank had complained about the speed and warned that the project would be cancelled unless the rate of implementation was quickened.
The accused said the whole project was to last for three years and that he had to fight to get an extension because the nature of the implementation was such that the project deserved to be extended.
He said at the same time there were resources under the Trade and Investment Programme (TIP) provided by the United States Government. He therefore discussed it with the then Finance Minister, Mr Kwame Peprah and the then Trade Minister, Mr Dan Abodakpi, who decided that some of the funds could be used in the context of creating favourable environment for the private sector.
The former minister described the project as designed to boost foreign investment and promote trade, especially in the non-traditional export.
He said at the end of the project, there was an outstanding of six million dollars left in the TIP account.
According to him, there was no provision as to what such money should be used for. It was, therefore, decided by his minister that the funds should continue to be held under a separate account to be used for other projects that would be beneficial to the private sector.
He added that the money would also assist policies and institutions in both the private and public sectors.
Accused said the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service was given some of the money for the duty draw back system to exporters, while the Ghana Export Promotion Council was given some of the resources for exporters in export contract documentation and packaging.
He said the Investment Promotion Centre was given resources for use for investment promotion activities, the Trade Fair Authority was also given some resources for the construction of new pavilion, while the Ministries of Trade and Finance were given resources for logistics support. Some of the money was also allocated to address bottlenecks within the legal judicial sector.
Selormey said they received proposal from Leebda to do a turnkey project as part of the court computerisation project.
He said the turnkey project involved the conversion of legal materials like Ghana Law Reform documents, status and indexes into computer readable forms.
He said another component of the turnkey project was the purchase of hardware while the other aspect is the training to be given to lawyers and also the creation of a central database within the premises of the High Court in Accra.
He said the system would provide easy access for legal material for research, and this would help to quicken the pace on delivery of judgement and enhance confidence of the business community.
Hearing continues on Monday, July 9.
GRi…/
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Accra (Greater Accra) 06 July 2001
The case in which six persons, including two former Ministers of State are charged variously with causing financial loss to the state, was on Friday adjourned to July 23 by the Fast Track Court at the instance of the prosecution.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Mr Osafo Sampong applied for the adjournment to enable the prosecution to take delivery of some vital documents from the United States to buttress its case.
The Presiding Judge, Mr Justice Kwame Afreh, as well as defence counsel obliged and the case was adjourned.
The court directed the DPP to make available, all prosecution witnesses to ensure a speedy trial.
The accused persons, who are charged with various counts of conspiracy and causing financial loss to the state are, Ibrahim Adam and Kwame Peprah, both former ministers, Dr Samuel Dapaah, Dr George Yankey, Nana Ato Dadzie and Kwesi Ahwoi, all former senior public servants in the former government.
They have all pleaded not guilty and each of them has been granted Self-recognisance bail.
Earlier, Mr Justice Afreh advised the media covering the case to be accurate in its reportage in order not to prejudice proceeding against the accused persons.
The advice followed an objection raised by Mr Kwaku Baah, counsel for the third accused to a publication on proceedings of the case by one of the dailies.
The judge said the media were at liberty to contact the court for accurate records of proceedings if they were in doubt.
Mr Justice Afreh advised sub-editors in particular to give accurate headlines to reports on the court's proceedings in order not to cast a slur on the reputation of the accused persons.
Mr Baah tendered a copy of the paper on the publication and said the headline as well as portions of the report sought to prejudice the matter or excite the public against the accused persons.
Counsel contended that there have been several distortions of proceedings of the court by not only the print media but the television stations as well.
GRi../
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Accra (Greater Accra) 06 July 2001
Lawyers were on Friday advised to take notes in long hand to facilitate the dispensation of justice.
In this way, they would be contributing their quota towards the quick delivery of judgement.
Justice Julius Ansah, an Appeal Court Judge, sitting with additional responsibility as a High Court Judge, gave the advice at Friday's sitting of the Fast Track High Court in Accra
This was when Mr Ambrose Dery, Defence Counsel for Mallam Ali Yussif Isa, former Minister of Youth and Sports, charged with two counts of stealing 46,000 dollars, requested the court to furnish him with the evidence in chief of his client for study.
The former Minister opened his defence on July 5.
Mr Dery assured the court that he would close his case by the end of this month.
Mallam Isa, who is additionally charged with fraudulently causing financial loss to the state, has pleaded not guilty and has been granted 500 million cedis bail.
He is to report at the Police Headquarters three times a week until the case is disposed of. The accused is also to deposit a land title deed with the registrar of the court.
Mr Osafo Sampong, Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), said if counsel were to take down notes, this problem would not have arisen.
The court noted that when the courtroom machines were not available, lawyers were taking notes in long hand.
He had earlier ordered the court manager, to play back recordings on the evidence for counsel.
Mr Ansah called on lawyers to co-operate with the Fast Track Court so that its objectives would be realised.
The case was adjourned to 09:00 hours on Monday, July 9 for counsel to have a copy of the evidence.
GRi../
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Nkawkaw (Eastern Region) 06 July 2001
A Community tribunal at Nkawkaw has sentenced two National Democratic Congress (NDC) activists to two years imprisonment with hard labour for a stealing a ballot box belonging to the Electoral Commission.
They are Ebenezar Nyarko, a driver and Nkawkaw Constituency Treasurer of the party and Mohammed Yaro, a cola dealer and Asubone Rail chairman of the party.
Four others, including William Kwasi Agyare, a teacher and Nkawkaw Constituency Parliamentary candidate of the party in last year's election, Daniel Kwame Ansong, also a teacher, Fred Opoku Yeboah, a driver and Clement Kwame Odimah, a trader who were jointly charged with them were, however, acquitted and discharged for lack of evidence.
The tribunal, chaired by Mr William Boampong, ordered that a Niva vehicle with registration number GW 6664 R used for the stealing of the ballot box should be confiscated and given to the Kwahu South District Assembly.
Inspector John Padmore Arthur told the tribunal that during the Presidential and Parliamentary elections on December 28, last year, Nyarko, who was driving an NDC Nissan Pick-up vehicle with registration number GT 2706 R went to Kwadwo Nkansah village, near Asubone Rail and tried to disrupt the election going on at the polling centre.
He said he asked the electoral officials why they were not allowing the party agents at the centre to cross-check the names of the registered voters in the registrar but was told that it was not their duty so he drove away.
The Prosecutor said, an hour later, he returned with the additional Niva vehicle loaded with strong men numbering about 33 who wanted to cause pandemonium at the polling centre.
Yaro ordered one Iddi, now on the run, to go for the ballot box, which he obliged. He picked it and put it into the Niva and drove away. The box contained 134 votes that had been cast at that time.
GRi…/
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Asamankese (Eastern Region) 06 July 2001
A 60-year-old farmer, Kwasi Donkor from Adankrono, near Kade in the Eastern Region, who appeared before an Asamankese Circuit Court six times on a charge of defiling a 13-year-old school girl, has been acquitted and discharged for lack of evidence.
Giving reasons for the court's decision, Mr S. S. Appiah, Presiding Judge, said when the alleged defilement took place on two separate occasions the girl did not report to anybody but rather went to school.
Mr Appiah also said the victim's assertion that Opanyin Kwadwo defiled her on a settee was doubtful.
Further, the Judge held that it could be that the girl just mentioned the accused person's name just to save herself from further beatings.
This was because in her evidence in chief the girl said when she refused to tell her guardian the cause of the infection in her private parts the uncle beat her before she mentioned the man's name.
The Presiding Judge also said that since the accused claimed that he had a long-standing bad relationship with the victim's guardian, it could have been a conspiracy between the family of the girl against Donkor.
Then also there was no collaborative evidence to incriminate the accused according to the court.
Finally, Mr Appiah emphasised that the medical report, which stated that the hymen of the girl was absent did not necessarily mean the penetration of a male organ into the little girl's sex organ but could have been her own work by using a hard object.
Donkor who first appeared before the court on April 25 and pleaded not guilty to the charge of defiling the girl was remanded into prison for two weeks.
On his second appearance on May 7, he was granted bail in the sum of 10 million cedis with one surety to be justified but he was unable to satisfy the conditions.
However, when he appeared for the third time on May 16, he was granted bail in the sum of 10 million cedis without any surety.
In the course of the trial the girl told the court that while she was going to school one morning, Donkor lured her into his house under the pretext of sending her but allegedly defiled her and threatened to kill her should she ever mention the incident to anybody.
The girl also told the court that a week later while going to school, the man allegedly called her but when she declined to go, he tricked her that he would not do anything to her but wanted to send her to his wife and for the second time she alleged that the man defiled her in a settee in his room.
The victim's guardian told the court that she detected that the girl was unwell and therefore sent her to the Kade Health Centre at the first instance and later to the St. Dominic's Hospital at Akwatia a week later, when she mentioned that she had been defiled by the accused.
Prosecution told the court that in the course of the trial the girl led the Police to the Donkor's house at Adankrono and identified the room where the man allegedly defiled her.
The girl's uncle, Mr Kwabena Minta also told the court that the accused approached the family of the girl in the presence of Deputy Superintendent of Police Mr Addo of Kade, for an out of court settlement but Donkor denied it.
GRi../
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