Mallam Isa's Appeal-Court rules on October 23
I did proper investigations into Quality Grain case- Witness
Accra
(Greater Accra) 18 October 2001-The Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal
said on Wednesday that it would give its ruling on the former Minister of Youth
and
Sports
Minister, Mallam Ali Yusif Isa's appeal against his conviction at the Fast
Track High Court (FTHC) on Tuesday October 23.
On
July 20 the FTHC found Mallam Isa guilty on two counts of stealing and
fraudulently causing financial loss to the state.
It
sentenced him to four years' imprisonment, pay a fine of 10 million-cedi or in
default 12 months' imprisonment and ordered him to refund 46,000 dollars that
he lost within a month or serve additional two years' imprisonment.
Not
long after the conviction and sentence, Mr Ambrose Dery, Counsel for Mallam
Isa, filed the appeal against the FTHC ruling.
One
of Counsel's grounds for the appeal was that the trial judge erred in law when
he held that there was direct evidence that Mallam Isa dishonestly appropriated
the 46,000 dollars and fraudulently caused financial loss to the State.
In
counsel's view, however, "there is no direct evidence whatsoever to that
effect". Counsel further submitted that it was wrong for the trial court
to have averred that: "The prosecution discharged its burden of proof
beyond all reasonable doubts, whereas several doubts were raised in the
evidence."
Mr
Dery said Mallam Isa accepted some amount of responsibility for the loss of the
46,000 dollars and that it was wrong for the prosecution to make the trial
court believe that his client was wholly responsible for the loss of the money.
Counsel,
therefore, described the conviction and sentence of his client as a "miscarriage
of justice" and prayed the Court of Appeal to review it. Mr Anthony
Gyambiby, Principal State Attorney, is representing the State.
GRi…/
Send
your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra
(Greater Accra) 18 October 2001-Mr Theophilus Cudjoe, Deputy Director
(Investigations) of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), on Wednesday told the Fast
Track Court that he did proper investigations into the operations of the
Quality Grain Company which did not deserve loans the government guaranteed for
it.
Mr
Cudjoe, a prosecution star witness in the case was disagreeing with a
suggestion by Counsel for the first accused person, Ibrahim Adam, former
Minister of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), that he did not conduct the
investigations well.
Witness
said it was as a result of his report to the former Vice President, Professor
John Evans Atta Mills that a committee was set up to assess the company's
performance in its rice Project at Aveyime in the Volta Region.
He
said investigations showed that the first loan of seven million dollars granted
the Company for the purchase of farm equipment was not fully utilised.
Mr
Cudjoe said a rice mill was the only farm machinery at the project site where
rice had not even been planted at the time he completed investigations in
December 1998.
The
other accused persons are Kwame Peprah, former Minister of Finance, Dr Samuel
Dapaah, Dr George Yankey, Nana Ato Dadzie and Kwesi Ahwoi, all former senior
public officials.
They
have all pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and willfully causing financial loss
to the state and each of them is on a self-recognisance bail. Hearing continues
on Thursday.
GRi…/
Send
your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Tema
(Greater Accra) 18 October 2001-About 2,100 former employees of the erstwhile
Ghana National Trading Corporation (GNTC), laid-off between 1995 and 1997 have
filed a suit at a Tema High Court demanding the full payment of their severance
awards.
The
plaintiffs made up of 1,800 permanent staff, including senior officers and 302
casual employees named the Attorney General and the Divestiture Implementation
Committee (DIC) as the defendants, because they took over the assets and
liabilities of the corporation.
In
their statement of claim, the former employees said their contracts of
employment were governed by conditions of service, which set out modalities for
calculating redundancy entitlements.
However,
instead of being paid redundancy benefits in accordance with their conditions
of service, the Corporation unilaterally imposed a flat rate of 14 to 17 months
pay as their redundancy entitlements for permanent staff and eight weeks pay
for the casual workers.
The ex-employees, who are represented by Mr Justice E. K Jones-Mensah, a Tema lawyer said they were cheated when they were declared redundant after the corporation was divested and sold.
They
are asking for interest on their monies calculated at current bank rates and
are further seeking an order of interim injunction to restrain the defendants
from ejecting them from their official residencies, until the full payment of
their entitlements.
It
said the unlawful decision to impose a flat rate as severance pay was
communicated to them by the corporation's head of administration in a letter,
which purported a spurious negotiation allegedly reached with unauthorised
parties claiming to act on their behalf.
The
Attorney-General is the Chief Legal Officer of the government and the official
to be sued in civil actions against government, while the DIC is the statutory
agent of government empowered to divest state organisations, the suit
explained.
Similar
actions brought by ex-workers of the divested Tema Food Complex Corporation,
Ghana Textile Printing Company, State Fishing Corporation, Volta Aluminium
Company, Eredec Hotel at Koforidua and Achimota Brewery Company ended in favour
of the workers.
GRi…/
Send
your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com