The High Court in Accra has summoned three witnesses in the trial in which former Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, and two others have been accused of causing financial loss of €2.37 million to the state in a deal to purchase 200 ambulances.
That followed an application by counsel for Forson, Dr Aziz Basit Bamba, who moved the motion under section 58 of the Courts Act, 1993 (Act 459) at the Court presided over by Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe.
The witnesses summoned are a fomer Minster of Health, Alex Segbefia; Seidu Kotomah, a former Comptroller and Accountant General, and a former Chief Director at the Ministry of Health, Mr Patrick Nimo.
Mr Segbefia and Mr Nimo are to appear in court on June 29, 2023 while Mr Kotomah is expected to appear on July 3, 2023.
Failure to show up on the dates, the court will issue a bench warrant for their arrest.
Accused
Dr Forson, who is also the NDC Member of Parliament (MP) for Ajumako Enyan Esiam and currently the Minority Leader in Parliament.
He is standing trial with Sylvester Anemana, a former Chief Director of the Ministry of Health, and Richard Jakpa, a businessman.
They are facing the court for allegedly causing financial loss of €2.37 million to the state in a deal to purchase 200 ambulances for Ghana between 2014 and 2016.
They have, however, pleaded not guilty to five counts of willfully causing financial loss to the state, abetment to willfully cause financial loss to the state, contravention of the Public Procurement Act and intentionally misapplying public property.
Ambulance deal
Per the Attorney General’s (A-G’s) facts accompanying the charge sheet, in 2009, while delivering the State of the Nation Address, the then President, Prof. John Evans Atta Mills, indicated that new ambulances would be purchased to expand the operations of the National Ambulance Service.
Jakpa, who is a local representative of Big Sea General Trading Limited, a company based in Dubai, subsequently approached the Ministry of Health with a proposal that he had arranged for finance from Stanbic Bank for the supply of 200 ambulances to the government.
Parliament approved the financing agreement between the government and Stanbic Bank.
According to the facts, on November 19, 2012, Dr Anemana wrote to the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) seeking approval to engage Big Sea through single sourcing for the supply of 200 ambulances.
The facts added that on August 7, 2014, Dr Forson wrote to the Bank of Ghana for letters of credit of €3.95 million for the supply of 50 ambulances in favour of Big Sea.
The letters of credit were accordingly released to Big Sea.
The facts said 30 ambulances were purchased at a sum of €2.37 million, but all were found not to have met ambulance specifications and “not fit for purpose”.
Content by: Justice Agbenorsi
