Godfred Yeboah Dame Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson
The Office of the Attorney General has described as “rather absurd and misleading”, claims by Member of Parliament for Ajumako-Enyan-Essian Constituency, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, that the office is abusing its prosecutorial powers by putting him on trial.
According to the Attorney General (AG), investigations into the financial crimes perpetrated against Ghana in the purchase of the defective ambulances began in 2017, and it can therefore, not be true that the AG is prosecuting the former Deputy Finance Minister because of his position on the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy.
Dr. Ato Forson, and two other individuals, have been charged by the Office of the Attorney General for allegedly willfully causing financial loss of €2.37 million to the state in a deal to purchase some 200 ambulances for the health sector between 2014 and 2016.
Dr. Forson, who is a Ranking Member on the Finance Committee of Parliament, has been charged alongside Sylvester Anemana, a former Chief Director of the Ministry of Health as well as businessman, Richard Jakpa.
The three have been charged with 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.
The offences relate to the purchase of what court documents describe as defective vehicles which were not originally manufactured to function as ambulances hence could not be converted for such a purpose.
Press Conference
But speaking at a press conference, Dr. Forson alleged that the charges against him were a politically motivated attempt by government through the Attorney General to silence him for performing his duties as a Ranking Member on the Finance Committee.
“I want to assure the good people of Ghana, especially my constituents who elected me to Parliament, that I will not and cannot be silenced by the blatant abuse of prosecutorial powers by the Attorney General,” he said.
AG’s Response
But the Attorney General, in a statement signed by Deputy Attorney General, Diana Asonaba-Dapaah, rubbished the claims by the MP and stated that investigations into the purchase of the defective ambulances began in 2017 at a time when “no issue relating to the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government had either come up or contemplated.”
The statement indicated that a number of statements had been taken from different persons at different points in time, including Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, who was the then Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyemang-Mensah, Sherry Ayittey, and Dr. Alex Segbefia, who were all Ministers for Health at one point in time, as well as Dr. Forson himself.
It continued that in June 2021, the “investigations proceeded to finalise preparations by the Criminal Investigations Department of Ghana Police Service towards commencement of criminal proceedings against persons deemed fit for prosecution by the Attorney General. Further statements were taken from various persons. At that stage, no issue relating to the 2022 Budget and Economic Policy of the Government had come up.”
Touching briefly on the role played by Dr. Forson in the purchase of the defective ambulances, the AG indicated that on August 7, 2014, in complete disregard for the financing arrangement for the transaction approved by both Cabinet and the Parliament of Ghana, Dr. Forson authorised the Bank of Ghana to “urgently establish the Letters of Credit for the supply of 50 ambulances amounting to €3.96 million representing 25 per cent of the contract sum.
“At this time, not a single ambulance had been delivered.
“On August 12, 2014, the first accused also directed the Controller and Accountant-General to pay the sums of GH¢806,688.75 representing bank charges covering the establishment of Letters of Credit for the supply of 50 ambulances, and further directed for the amount to be charged against the Capital Expenditure Vote for the Ministry of Health.
“All these directives by the first accused were in violation of the agreement for the supply of the ambulances as well as the parliamentary approval regarding the financing of the transaction.”
It said it was pursuant to these unlawful directives by Dr. Forson that Big Sea shipped 30 vehicles in three (3) consignments between October 2014 and February 2015 which were fundamentally defective and lacking the basic requirements for an ambulance.
It also indicated that throughout the remainder of former President John Mahama’s tenure between December 2014 and January 2017, the vehicles were never converted into ambulances.
According to the statement, Dr. Ato Forson had claimed that he relied on an opinion of the Attorney General for his actions but it also observed that “the opinion of the Attorney General did not mandate the former Deputy Minister of Finance to authorise the issuance of irrevocable Letters of Credit, contrary to the terms approved by Parliament.”
The Attorney General, therefore, assured the public that as the protector of the public interest, and in the spirit of immutable principles of accountability, justice and probity enshrined by the Constitution of Ghana, his office will zealously prosecute crimes bordering on abuse of public funds which have been fully investigated and are considered to be worthy of prosecution.
“All persons in Ghana are equal before the law. The status of a Member of Parliament is no bar to prosecution for a crime committed,” it added.
The Office of the AG said it has taken notice of comments by some commentators aligned to Dr. Forson suggesting that he was not the ‘deal maker’ in the transaction, but the office maintains that the facts of the case speak for themselves.
The statements also entreated the general public, particularly political commentators and persons styling themselves as civil society, to permit the streams of justice to flow unhindered by refraining from undue public commentary on the criminal action instituted against Dr. Forson.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak