Alex Mould
Former Chief Executive Officer of Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Alex Mould, yesterday told an Accra High Court he has not seen any document indicating that Minority Leader Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson received an authorisation from former Finance Minister, Seth Terkper to write letters authorising payment for ambulances, which has landed him in court.
Mr. Mould, who is Dr. Forson’s second witness, while under cross-examination by Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, told the court that he has not seen any document authorising the accused to write a letter asking the Bank of Ghana to establish Letters of Credit (LCs) in favour of Big Sea Trading Company, the company that supplied the defective ambulances to the government.
He also told the court he has not seen any authorisation to Dr. Forson to write to the Controller and Accountant General authorising the release of more than GH¢800,000 to the Minister for Health to enable him to pay the bank charges covering the establishment of the LCs for the supply of 50 Mercedes Benz Ambulances and Related Services.
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 of €2.37 million to the state, through a contract to purchase 200 ambulances for the Ministry of Health, among other charges.
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 (AG), 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.
Mr. Mould, while under cross-examination by Mr. Dame, told the court that he does not have personal knowledge of the matters which resulted in the writing of the letters by Dr. Forson.
He said his knowledge about the deal is from documents given to him by Dr. Abdul Aziz Bamba, counsel for the accused, and when pressed further that the briefing included provision of the document which he referred to in his witness statement, he said: “counsel gave me the document to read and opine.”
“So your opinion consist of inferences that you yourself have made from the documents that you claim were provided to you by lawyer for A1. And not any personal knowledge,” the AG asked.
“My opinion here is based on my knowledge on trade finance and particularly on my knowledge on establishment of LC and payments done in accordance with Uniform Custom Practice (UCC),” Mr. Mould explained.
He agreed with the Attorney General that it is also correct that there cannot be any payment at all without the Ministry of Finance authorising it.
He, however, indicated that any claim that the letter written by Dr. Forson has resulted in causing financial loss to the republic is not only wrong but demonstrates a misunderstanding of an LC.
“I say in an LC transaction, it is an LC applicant and paying bank who authorise payment,” he added.
But when pressed by the Attorney General, he again agreed that LC is a means by which payment was made for the transaction in issue, indicating that LC “is the means by which payments would be made on behalf of the applicant to the beneficiary”.
“My Lady, my understanding of public finance is that if any SOE, MMDA or ministry requires payment from the MoF, good governance would require approval by the right authority. Any approval that does not follow the process and authorise at the right level could be a problem,” he added.
Mr. Dame will continue the cross-examination on July 6, 2023.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak