Ato Forson
Richard Jakpa, the businessman at the centre of the ‘defective’ ambulance trial, has told a High Court that the medical equipment in the first 10 ambulances that were shipped into the country were stolen and the inner compartment was vandalised at the port.
This, he said, was a result of a failure on the part of the Ministry of Health to proceed to the port to protect the ambulances.
“…Because of that when the first 10 ambulances arrived at the port and the bill of lading duly submitted to the Ministry of Health, they again did not proceed to the port to protect the ambulances. The accessories of the first 10 ambulances were stolen and apart from the accessories being stolen, the inner compartment was vandalised at the port,” he said while under cross-examination.
Mr. Jakpa is before the court together with Minority Leader and former Deputy Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, for allegedly causing €2.37 million financial loss to the state through a contract to purchase 200 ambulances for the Health Ministry.
The accused, in his defence, averred that in so far as the establishment of letters of credits and payment for the ambulances are concerned, JBL and him as its sole shareholder and chairman, had no obligation and assumed no responsibility even as an exclusive agent.
While under cross-examination by Dr. Aziz Bamba, counsel for Dr. Forson, the accused told the court that because of the theft of the medical equipment in the first 10 ambulances at the port, the Ministry of Health agreed with the supplier that the next 20 ambulances to be shipped without the equipment.
“… The Ministry of Health had agreed with the supplier to ship the next 20 without the accessories and ship the accessories separately in a container because of the incident of the first 10 ambulances that their medical equipment were stolen. This was to forestall that from happening again,” he said.
He also indicated that a report on a post-delivery inspection done by the National Ambulance Service included things that were not included in the original contract between Government of Ghana and Big Sea General Trading LLC, the Dubai-based company that supplied the ambulances.
He indicated that comparing the report on the body requirements of the ambulance, for instance, to the agreed contract, it was clear that the two were “completely different.”
“The body requirement of exhibit Z (report) was not what Government of Ghana signed with Big Sea to manufacture hence this body requirement aspect of exhibit Z is not binding on Big Sea and as such is alien to exhibit V (contract),” Mr. Jakpa told the court.
‘Aboboyaa’ Ambulances
Meanwhile, the businessman has told the court that any type of vehicle, including a tricycle popularly referred to as ‘Aboboyaa’ in local parlances can be converted into an ambulance.
“Isn’t it the case that ambulances are not off the shelf goods and are built according to agreed specifications?” Dr. Bamaba had asked the witness.
“Yes, my Lord. Ambulances are not like any ordinary vehicles that are manufactured and showcased for you to just walk in and go and pick. Ambulances are bespoke so you can convert any vehicle be it saloon, 4 wheel drive, 40 footer container, even ‘Aboboyaa’ into an ambulance if you so wish,” the accused answered.
He went on to indicate that because the manufactures of vehicles, for instance Mercedes in Stuttgart are not specialised in the manufacturing of ambulances, they manufacture their vehicles for the market and other companies such as Big Sea are internationally certified to convert such vehicles into ambulances.
“Now there are other companies that are specialised in the convention of all sorts of vehicles already manufactured into ambulances. Those companies have ISO certifications for such work. In this particular case for instance, the Mercedes vans were opted for, ordered from Mercedes Benz in Stuttgart to Dubai and in Dubai Big Sea General Trading LLC which is an internationally certified ambulance builder coverts these Mercedes Benz vans which were manufactured for a different purpose into an ambulance for a different purpose,” Mr. Jakpa added.
Meanwhile, the court presided over by Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, a Justice of the Court of Appeal sitting as an additional High Court judge, has ordered counsel for Mr. Jakpa to make sure the witness statements for all their eight (8) witnesses are filed, indicating that the court will not entertain the “one at a time” approach adopted by the accused and his lawyer.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak