Former President Kufuor of Ghana was in court in Accra to show solidarity with Dr. Wereko-Brobby and Mr. Kwadwo Mpiani
By William Yaw Owusu
Friday April 23, 2010
The much talked about Ghana @ 50 celebrations and the subsequent enquiry into the alleged misappropriation of funds took a new twist yesterday with the arraignment of two former New Patriotic Party (NPP) government appointees before an Accra Fast Track High Court.
The two, Dr. Charles Yves Wereko-Brobby aka Tarzan, a former Chief Executive Officer of the defunct Ghana @50 Secretariat and Kwadwo Okyere Mpiani, a former Chief of Staff in the John Agyekum Kufuor regime and chairman of the National Planning Committee (NPC) for the celebration, stand accused for willfully causing financial loss to the state for their various roles during the celebration.
For the second time in three weeks, former President Kufuor together with some NPP bigwigs stormed the court to show solidarity with the suspects who are together facing four counts of willfully causing financial loss to the state.
President Kufuor was in court on April 2, to lend support for Mr. Mpiani and other former ministers who are standing trial in the Ghana International Airline case.
Yesterday at the Chief Justice’s Court in the Supreme Court building, the trial judge, Justice Samuel Marful-Sau of the Court of Appeal granted the two accused men to GH¢ 35 million each in their own recognizance and adjourned the case until May 26, 2010 to enable defense counsel to obtain a copy of the final report of the Commission of Enquiry set up by President Jonhn Evans Atta Mills to investigate misappropriation of funds during the Ghana @ 50 celebrations.
Granting the bail, the judge said “I have taken judicial notice of issues surrounding this matter and I am satisfied that the accused persons would not abscond”, thus refusing a request by Ms. Gertrude Aikins, Acting Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to place “additional security” in addition to the self recognizance bail request by defense counsel.
The court sat at exactly 1:19 pm and it was packed with about 40 baton wielding police officers surrounding the area.
The judge then told the waiting audience “I have been mandated by the Chief Justice to take preliminary proceedings of this case”
This prompted Akoto Ampaw, representing Dr. Wereko-Brobby to ask “My Lord does it mean that the prosecution are not ready with the facts?”
Justice Marful-Sau responded “for now my mandate is to take preliminary proceeding. I only want to disclose to you my mandate. The decision is with the Chief Justice.”
The court then proceeded to take the plea of the accused persons who pleaded not guilty to all the four counts.
Requesting for bail, Mr. Akoto Ampaw told the court that it was impossible for Dr. Wereko-Brobby and Mr. Mpiani to put up a solid defense without vital documents such as the report of the Ghana @ 50 Commission of Enquiry.
“We have not seen a copy of the report from which the prosecution is basing its facts on. We are placed in a very unenviable position to know the actual basis of the findings. We want to have all facilities that will enable us to defend ourselves”
Yonni Kulendi, counsel for Mr. Mpiani said “we have fundamental preliminary objections in terms of the substantive and procedural propriety of the arraignment of the accused. We will contend in due course that these charges are to say the least totally politically motivated. These charges have been mounted in clear breach of the fundamental laws of the land which the prosecution purports to uphold.”
“The elementary premise prescribed by the constitution has been ignored and at a historic pace of less than 24 hours the accused persons are being charged.”
In the first count, the prosecution maintained that the two former NPP officials between May 2006 and December 2007 willfully caused financial loss of GH¢ 499, 995.63 by spending in excess of the amount of $31.8 million approved by Parliament.
The second charge says that the accused between February 2007 and January 2009 willfully caused financial loss of GH¢ 2 .116, 906.91in the form of interest paid as a loan from the Prudential Bank Limited without authority.
In the third count, the two men stand accused for causing financial loss of GH¢ 966, 048.52 being bank overdraft from the Prudential Bank Limited without authority in or about September 2006.
Finally, the fourth count says the two men between May 2006 and December 2008 willfully caused financial loss by expending GH¢ 935, 249.8 being income of the Ghana @ 50 Secretariat without authority.
The fact of the case as presented by the DPP are that prior to the Ghana @50 anniversary a Cabinet sub-Committee called the National Planning Committee (NPC) was set by the then President Kufuor and the judge cut in to say “who is here with us today”, drawing some laughter from the audience.
The prosecution continued that the NPC was to see to the organization and implementation of the celebration where Mr. Mpiani was appointed as the Chairman and Dr. Wereko-Brobby as the Chief Executive of the Secretariat which was subsequently established in May 2006.
She said the celebration which was to last for a year started in January 2007 and ended in December 2007.
The prosecution said the Secretariat was later given additional responsibility to implement the NPC’s decision on both the celebration and the African Union Summit hosted by Ghana in 2007.
“A number of projects and activities were planned for the celebrations and in view of this Parliament approved a total of $31.80 million equivalent to ¢293.1 million and GH¢ 29.31 for the celebration.”
“This was made up of ¢182.90 billion (GH¢18.29) which was approved by Parliament on July 20, 2010.”
The prosecution said a second trench which was a loan of $11.80million equivalent of ¢110.2 billion (GH¢ 11.02) contracted from Fidelity Bank and approved by Parliament.
“Aside these sums approved by Parliament, huge sums of money appeared to have been spent on the celebrations. More than a year after the celebrations a number of the projects remain uncompleted and the government is saddled with huge debts.”
She told the court that it was against this background that the Ghana @50 Commission of Enquiry was set up by President JEA Mills to enquire into the activities of the Secretariat and the entire celebration.
She said the prosecution will lead evidence to prove that even though Parliament approved a total of GH¢29.31 million for the celebration, a total amount of GH¢37. 776,388.44 had been spent on the celebrations out of which an amounts of GH¢ 75. 569, 563.34 were directly spent by the Secretariat and the NPC.
“The Secretariat and the NPC therefore spent an amount of GH¢ 46. 999, 563.00 in excess of the amount of money approved by Parliament for the celebrations.
“We will also lead evidence to prove that contrary to Article 176 and 178 of the Constitution, the NPC and the Secretariat utilized all the internally generated funds totaling GH¢ 19,352, 498 without any approval from Parliament,” she said.
She said the NPC and the Secretariat also procured a bridge finance facility of GH¢ 10,438, 036 and another loan facility of GH¢ 10million from Prudential Bank without Parliamentary approval contrary to Article 181 of the Constitution and the facilities had attracted a total interest of GH¢ 308, 295.52, thereby increasing the government’s expenditure.
Also see : www.dailyguideghana.com
No comments:
Post a Comment