Nana Konadu attended meeting on divestiture of Rubber Estates
Acquit and discharge Dr George Yankey - Counsel
Prosecution considering Dodoo's overtures - DPP
Nana Konadu attended meeting on divestiture
of Rubber Estates
Accra (Greater Accra) 16 November 2001- Mr Osafo Sampong, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) told a Fast Track Court in Accra on Thursday that Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, former First Lady, was present at a meeting held to decide on how to help a French Company to win the divested Ghana Rubber Estates Limited (GREL).
Presenting the Prosecution’s case in the on going trail of Sherry Ayittey, Director of Finance and Projects of the 31st December Women's Movement (DWM) and three others at the court, Mr Sampong revealed that at the meeting with Nana Konadu, also President of the 31st DWM, the movement agreed that Ayittey, a member of the DIC, took full control of negotiations with the French company.
The three are: Sati Ocran, Member of the Movement, Emmanuel Agbodo, former Chief Executive of the Divestiture Implementation Committee (DIC) and Ralph Casely-Hayford, Engineer.
Earlier in the day, the DPP had withdrawn the case against the four at an Accra Circuit Court presided over by Mr Imoro Ziblim. No sooner had the court freed the four than the DPP preferred fresh charges of bribery and corruption against them and arraigned them at the FTC.
They have all pleaded not guilty to various charges of bribery and corruption and had each been granted self-recognisance bail by the FTC presided over by Mr Justice J. C. Amonoo-Monney, an Appeal Court Judge sitting as an additional High Court Judge.
They would make their second appearance at the court on Thursday, November 22. The DPP said Ayittey was tasked to collect an amount of one million dollars from the French company to the 31st DWM before GREL was handed over to it.
Mr Sampong said Ayittey, who alone faces seven charges on corruption, was further asked to negotiate 15 per cent of the shares from the French company as dividends for the movement if the deal went through.
The DPP told the court that when the money was finally withdrawn, it was given to one Dr Albert Owusu Banafo, Consultant of GREL, with a total of 800,000 dollars paid to Ayittey.
Mr Sampong said Ayittey clinched the deal involving Mr Dan Abodakpi, former Minister of Trade and Industry and a member of the DIC, adding that about 70 million cedis was given to Casely-Hayford to be given to Mr Abodakpi.
The DPP said as former boss of DIC, Agbodo was given a total of 15 million cedis to influence him when he was perceived to be proving difficult in the transaction.
Giving the background of the case leading to GREL's divestiture, Mr Sampong told the FTC that upon a tip-off from one Kwame Awuah Asante that certain sums of money could not be accounted for at GREL, Police investigations revealed that over two billion cedis had been withdrawn from GREL and given to Dr Banafo.
The DPP said due to this huge withdrawal of cash from its account, GREL ran into financial difficulties. Mr Sampong said with the assistance of loans from the French government to help rehabilitate GREL, it came to be managed by the French company which later got 75 per cent of the shares being divested.
The DPP told the court that Dr Banafo advised the French company to pay goodwill if it wanted to buy GREL. Mr Sampong said since other companies also wanted to buy GREL, Dr Banafo solicited the assistance of the 31st DWM to help the French company to win the bid.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 16 November 2001 - Counsel for Dr George Yankey, fourth accused person in the Quality Grain trial, on Thursday urged the Fast Track Court to acquit and discharge his client because the prosecution had failed to prove that he conspired and wilfully caused financial loss to the state.
Mr David Lamptey said the prosecution could not produce evidence that Dr Yankey, former Head of the Legal Department at the Ministry of Finance did anything wrong in the preparation of documents for the government to guarantee loans to the Quality Grain Company.
Mr Lamptey was concluding his submissions of "no case" in a matter in which Dr Yankey and five others are charged with conspiracy and wilfully causing financial loss to the state. Counsel said his client and the other accused persons performed their official functions, which they could not have refused.
He said the court must find it as a fact that the function of a public officer was not "voluntary but rather obligatory" and quoted several legal authorities to buttress his argument.
Mr Lamptey said it was the government, which showed interest to guarantee loans for the company to establish a rice project at Aveyime in the Volta Region.
Counsel submitted that the accused persons only prepared documents on the loans and must not be held liable for any default by the company.
Mr Lamptey's submissions concluded similar arguments by counsel for the other accused persons. The court adjourned proceedings to Monday, November 19 for the prosecution to reply.
The other accused persons are Ibrahim Adam, former Minister of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), Kwame Peprah, former Finance Minister, Dr Samuel Dapaah, Nana Ato Dadzie and Kwesi Ahwoi, all former senior public officers. They have pleaded not guilty and each of them is on a self-recognisance bail.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 16 November 2001 - Mr Osafo Sampong, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), on Thursday told the tribunal hearing the case of Robert Dodoo, former Head of the Civil Service, that the state was considering overtures made by him.
The DPP who took over the prosecution of the case from the Police, therefore, asked for a two-week adjournment to enable the state to arrive at a decision. "We are asking for a fortnight's adjournment by which a decision would have been taken. I am not asking for his discharge."
The tribunal, chaired by Mr Ziblim Imoru adjourned the case to November 29. Dr Dodoo, charged with carelessly causing the loss of 70 million cedis to the state, pleaded not guilty. He has been granted 50 million cedis bail with one surety.
Dodoo was alleged to have signed for the release of 70 million cedis to a contractor who absconded without installing two passenger-lifts at the Civil Service Annex in Accra.
William Kofi Partey, a sub contractor of Elevator Engineering Limited, who received the money but failed to execute the job, has fled the country.
In 1992 the Greater Accra Regional Tender Board awarded a 600 million-cedi contract to Charkson Construction Company to construct a two-storey annex to the main office of the Head of the Civil Service.
Shortly after Dodoo had assumed office, he signed a letter requesting the Minister of Finance to release 70,822,500 cedis to Elevator Engineering Company Limited. The money was paid to the contractor on the strength of the letter.
The prosecution said Dodoo has, however, indicated his willingness to refund the money to government chest since Mr Partey has fled the country.
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