Cassiel Ato Forson
Minority Leader and former Deputy Minister of Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, is expected to open his defence today before an Accra High Court where he is standing trial with two others for allegedly causing €2.37 million financial loss to the state.
His lawyer on April 18, 2023, indicated that the accused who is the Member of Parliament for Ajumako-Enyan-Esiam, would be calling nine witnesses to prove his case, including the Chief Director at the Ministry of Finance and the Controller and Accountant General.
The trial court upon a request by Dr. Forson ordered the prosecution to provide him with certain documents, including warrant of payment detailing the person who authorised the Bank of Ghana to establish the Letters of Credit, which he considers crucial to his defence.
The prosecution has been able to provide him with some of the documents which they could find and Dr. Forson has subsequently filed witness statements for two of his witnesses, one of whom would be testifying today, barring any unforeseen development.
Dr. Ato Forson, Sylvester Anemana, a former Chief Director at the Ministry of Health, as well as private businessman, Richard Jakpa, are standing trial for willfully causing financial loss to the state, through a contract to purchase 200 ambulances for the Ministry of Health, among other charges.
An Accra High Court on March 30, 2023, ordered Dr. Forson and two others to open their defence in a trial in which they are accused of purchasing defective vehicles as ambulances for the Ministry of Health.
The court, presided over by Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, a Court of Appeal judge sitting as an additional High Court judge, in a ruling held that the three had a case to answer in the charges of causing financial loss and others levelled against them by the Office of the Attorney General in a deal that saw the state spending €2.37 million on the defective ambulances.
She held that both the prosecution and the defence teams admit in one way or the other that the ambulances that were imported were defective, so “If you have spent money on a vehicle that cannot be used, then there is a case to be answered.”
The prosecution, led by the Attorney General and Minster for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame and Director of Public Prosecutions, Yvonne Atakora-Obuobisa, closed its case on February 14, 2023 after calling five witnesses, including the Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu to prove its case.
The main issue raised during the prosecution’s case was whether the defective vehicles were purchased in accordance with the purchase agreement approved by Parliament.
The other was whether Dr. Forson was authorised by the substantive Finance Minister or any superior officer to write a letter to the Controller and Accountant General directing the establishment of irrevocable Letters of Credit (LCs) which led to the payments.
The Attorney General, in a written submission to establish the prosecution’s case, asserted that Dr. Forson was criminally reckless in not ensuring that the terms of the agreement were adhered and that resulted in the institution of the criminal case against him.
Dr. Forson, in submission, argues that he wrote the letter on behalf of the then substantive Minister of Finance, Seth Terkper. The AG disagrees with the assertion and argues that the letters were written with no authorisation from any quarters.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak