GRi in Court News
Ghana 20 - 06 - 2001
Tribunal
orders arrest of businessman
Accra
(Greater Accra) 20 June 2001
Madam Eva
Mends, Economic Officer of the Ministry of Finance, on Tuesday took the Fast
Track Court through how the ministry disburses funds for payment for projects
completed.
She said
when projects are implemented and payments have to be made to outsiders, a
committee approves the budget of the implementing agency.
Madam Mends
said the Ministry of Finance then writes to the Controller and Accountant
General's Department authorising it to pay the agent.
She was
giving evidence for the prosecution in the court computerisation project case
in which Victor Selormey, former Deputy Minister of Finance, is charged with
conspiracy, defrauding by false pretences and wilfully causing financial loss
of 1.3 million dollars to the state.
Selormey
has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is on a 1.5 billion-cedi bail.
The Fast Track
Court is presided over by Justice Sam G. Baddoo, an Appeal Court Judge sitting
as an additional High Court Judge.
Led in her
evidence in chief by Mr Osafo Sampong, Director of Public Prosecution (DPP),
Madam Mends said after the committee approves the budget, the Ministry of
Finance disburses the funds to the agency.
Madam Mends
who said she worked directly for the former Deputy Minister told the court that
it was the accused person who signed the letters to the Controller and
Accountant General's Department for the release of the money.
She said
apart from the Bank of Ghana (BOG), the ministry was dealing with ECOBANK Ghana
Limited, Metropolitan and Allied Bank, First Atlantic Bank and the Prudential
Bank on the project.
Madam Mends
agreed with the prosecution that the ministry deals directly with these banks
by writing to them, saying if it is a question of payment for consultancy fee,
then it is the Auditor General and the Accountant General's Department, which
must have copies of the letters.
The witness
said her schedule includes maintaining all the files in the ministry and before
a letter is dispatched from her section, she is to have a copy.
She said on
November 27, 1998 and February 12, 1999, she was on this schedule but did not
see any letter written by the accused person, which was dispatched to ECOBANK
Ghana Limited.
The witness
said she worked on a project called Trade and Investment Programme (TIP), which
started in 1992 and technically ended in 1998.
She
explained that the agreement between Ghana and the US ended but they still had
funds to disburse.
She said it
was the US government that provided money for this project and disagreed that
money meant for a particular project was not allowed to be used for another
project.
During
cross-examination, Madam Mends agreed with Mr Barima Manu, counsel for
Selormey, that money that accrued from the TIP was used on certain
organisations.
However,
she said she was not aware that these organisations included Ghana Investment
Promotion Centre and Trade Fair Authority, which was constructing new
pavilions.
Some of the
money was also made available to ECOBANK, Metropolitan and Allied,
First
Atlantic and Prudential, adding that there were also occasions when the money
was used to sponsor civil servants abroad.
Madam Mends
disagreed with counsel that it was out of the same funds that the Leebda
Corporation of Texas was paid for its services.
Witness
denied counsel's submission that the Trade and Investment Reform Programme
(TIRP) was replaced with TIP saying "the TIP was being implemented with
the TIRP".
The witness
said among her current schedule, she reviews reports and co-ordinates all the
activities of the ministry, but she was not aware of any court computerisation
project.
Mr Kwame
Akaba of ECOBANK who testified on Monday appeared before the court again on
Tuesday to submit documents covering instalments of money made for the final
transfer to Leebda in Texas, US.
Another
prosecution witness, Nana Kofi Enin Nsaful, Former Chief Director of Ministry
of Justice, told the court that he was actively involved with the project
manager, Mr. Paul Asimene, for the work.
Nana Nsaful
told the court that he did not know why the CD roms were not installed and also
did not know why the government did not provide the computers for the roms to
be installed.
He denied
that Leebda Corporation demonstrated the use of the CD roms to the officials of
the Ministry of Finance and others, including the present Attorney General and
some members of the judiciary. Hearing continues on Wednesday.
GRi../
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comments to news@ghanareview.com
Accra
(Greater Accra) 20 June 2001
A Circuit
Tribunal sitting in Accra on Tuesday issued a bench warrant for the arrest of a
self-styled businessman to face trial for possessing weapons with which he
intended to commit crime.
Charles
Coffie, 30, was among a group of people arrested at Mamfe-Akuapem last Thursday
after they allegedly attacked occupants of a Land Rover and made away with 36.6
million cedis.
GNA's
investigation shows that Coffie has about 10 previous cases of stealing,
defrauding and robbery pending against him at the courts.
Records
indicated that in February 9, this year, he was sentenced in absentia to five
years imprisonment by a circuit tribunal in Accra, for stealing money. But he
filed an appeal at the regional tribunal, which subsequently granted him bail.
In recent
times, suspected criminals, including robbers who were refused bail at the
circuit tribunals, file appeals at the regional tribunals and in most cases,
they are granted bail and released pending hearing.
"This
is making our work difficult," a circuit judge told the GNA.
In Coffie's
peculiar case, he was granted bail in November last year after he appeared
before a circuit tribunal for charges of stealing, unlawful entry and
conspiracy.
A week
later, he was again arrested after an exchange of gunfire with the police when
armed robbers broke into a house at Adabraka. These cases and several others
are pending before the courts.
GRi../
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comments to news@ghanareview.com