Fraud Office recommends strict financial control for Kumasi Abattoir
Accra (Greater Accra) 30 November 2001 - Hearing of the bribery and corruption charges against Sherry Ayittey, Director of Finance and Projects of the 31st December Women's Movement (DWM) and three others at the Fast Track High Court (FTHC) did not come on when they made their second appearance on Thursday.
The other three are Sati Ocran, member of the 31st DWM, Emmanuel Amuzu Agbodo, former Chief Executive of the Divestiture Implementation Committee (DIC) and Ralph Casely-Hayford, Engineer.
The case was mentioned but adjourned to Thursday, December 13. No reason was given. When the accused persons first appeared before the court on November 15, they all pleaded not guilty to various charges of bribery and corruption.
The presiding judge, Mr Justice J.C. Amonoo-Monney, an Appeal Court Judge, sitting as an additional High Court Judge, granted each of them a self-recognisance bail.
The prosecution told the court then that at a meeting with the former first lady, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings who is President of the 31st DWM, tasked Ayittey, also a former member of the DIC board, to negotiate for an amount of one million dollars from a French company that wanted to win the bid for the divestiture of the Ghana Rubber Estates Limited (GREL).
Ayittey was also to negotiate for a further 15 per cent dividend of the company's shares for the movement if the deal went through. When it was finally paid to the movement, 70 million cedis out of the amount was given to Casely-Hayford to be given to Mr Dan Abodakpi, then Minister of Trade and Industry.
When it was detected that the DIC boss, Agbodo, was perceived to be proving difficult, he was given 15 million cedis to influence him.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 30 November 2001 - The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) on Thursday recommended that the Board of Kumasi Abattoir Company should make provisions for proper financial control and internal auditing to regulate the financial operations of the company.
It said there should be adequate instructions for procurement and stores management to stop officers of the company from manipulating its finances for personal gains.
The recommendations, contained in a statement signed by Mr. B. A. Sapati, Acting Executive Director, followed investigations conducted by the SFO into allegations of misappropriation and mismanagement of funds by some management personnel of the Company.
It advised that no officer of the company should approve spending unless he was expressly authorised to do so by the Managing Director.
The statement said the use of cheque payments to suppliers of goods and services should be adhered to, and the use of "Sika Card" by the Managing Director to transact financial business on behalf of the company should be stopped with immediate effect
The store department and end-users of items and equipment must keep adequate records to make stock and account checks possible at anytime.
It said the company should employ a qualified accountant to head the finance department to give the needed support and advice to the Managing Director.
The statement said the board should take appropriate administrative sanctions against Mr. Maxwell Awuku, Administrative Manager, for approving spending for himself without prior authorisation from the Managing Director and Mr. J.O. Abrefa, Operations Manger for his inability to account for 2,310,000 cedis.
It said there should be segregation of duties of the Financial Manager and Operations Manager. The investigations which started in May this year were based on allegations that 22.5 million cedis meant for the purchase of stunner pellets was misappropriated by the Managing Director, Mr. Kwodwo Agyenim-Boateng.
It was also alleged that the Managing Director conspired with YADCO Ghana Limited in Accra to defraud the company of 30 million. He was also accused of colluding with the Production Manager to manipulate the finances of the company for personal gains.
The investigations, however, revealed that 2,310,000 was misappropriated by Mr. Abrefa and his associates in the purchase of equipment from Mike Akosah Enterprise and Rexka Electrical Services both of Kumasi. Mr. Abrefa could not identify the companies.
It was also found that Mr. Mohammed Awas, Managing Director of Awas Enterprise, Kumasi failed to manufacture shackles for which he was advanced 5,000,000 cedis since February 2001.
The statement said there was no evidence to support the allegation that Mr. Maxwell K. Awuku and Mr. K. Agyenim-Boateng misappropriated the company's funds.
The statement said Mr. Abrefa has refunded 2,310,000 cedis while Mr Awas had paid back 5,000,000 cedis and both amounts had been paid into the SFO exhibit account at the Bank of Ghana.
It noted that the inability of the management of the Abattoir to ensure adequate financial and accounting procedures and transparency in the operations of most transactions led to wanton speculations and suspicions.
The SFO advised the Board to address issues and ensure that proper control systems were instituted.
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