Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com
By
William Yaw Owusu
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Nuru Hamidan, the first Prosecution Witness (PW1) in
the infamous Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency
(GYEEDA) trial yesterday ended his evidence at a Financial Court in Accra.
Incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) for Chiana-Paga,
Abuga Pele and Philip Akpeena Assibit, Chief Executive Officer of Goodwill
International Group (GIG), are currently on trial for their various roles which
the Attorney General’s Department says had cost huge financial loss to the
state.
Until last year, Abuga Pele was the National
Coordinator of National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP), now the GYEEDA and
he is accused of willfully causing financial loss to the state to the tune of
GH¢3,330,568.53 while Assibit is being tried for defrauding the state of an
amount equivalent to $1,948,626.68.
The two have pleaded not guilty and are currently on
bail.
Long
Adjournment
At the last adjourned date, the court presided over by
Justice Afia Asare-Botwe had agreed with the prosecution and defense teams to
use two days to conclude evidence from Alhaji Hamidan who was once GYEEDA
Deputy Coordinator in charge of Operations and later Administration and
currently the Municipal Chief Executive at Asokore Mampong Assembly in the
Ashanti Region before the Easter break.
However, the swiftness with which Thaddeus Sory
representing Abuga Pele concluded the cross-examination of Alhaji Hamidan,
coupled with the fact that the next witness was not readily available to the
prosecution, compelled the court to adjourn proceedings until May 5 through to
May 9, 2014 to enable both camps to prepare adequately.
Cross-Examination
In the cross-examination, Alhaji Hamidan admitted that
he was once in charge of modules implementation at GYEEDA but insisted that
there were a team of monitors who reported to progress of work to the National
Coordinator.
He told the court that when Assibit presented a
document containing how the GIG was going to help to create more jobs for the
youth they were all impressed.
“We all said wow! This is a brilliant idea,” he told
the court.
He said proposals from service providers are always
addressed to the sector minister copied to GYYEDA and until the minister
approved it GYEEDA could not put it into effect.
“It cannot be accepted unless the minister certifies
it. If the minister is satisfied, it is then minuted to GYEEDA,” he added.
Alhaji Hamidan insisted that the idea that the World
Bank was going to support GYEEDA
projects did not come from Assibit and his GIG saying that “in the MoU NYEP
signed with them, West Cap was to provide the funds.”
He also said he was not in charge of documentation of
the World Bank project and added that there was an desk specifically set up for
that job.
He said he became associated with the case when the
Economic and Organized Crime Organization (EOCO) first invited him and later
asked him to write a statement which he did.
Charges
The NDC MP is facing six counts of willfully causing
financial loss to the state under Section 179A (3) of the Criminal Offences
Act, 1960 Act 29, two counts of abetment under Sections 20(1) and 131(1) of the
Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) and one count of intentionally misapplying
public property, contrary to Section 1(2) of the Public Property Protection
Act, 1977 (SMCD) 140.
Mr. Assibit, who is the first accused person on the
other hand, is facing six counts of defrauding by false pretences contrary to
Section 131(1) of the Criminal and Offences Act 1960 (Act 29) and five counts
of dishonestly causing loss to public property contrary to Section 2(1) of the
Public Property Protection Act, 1977 (SMCD) 140.
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