December 23rd, 2021 at 09:49 pm
A former Deputy Finance Minister, Cassiel Ato Forson, and two others have been charged for allegedly causing financial loss to the state.
Cassiel Ato Forson, a former Chief Director of the Ministry of Health; Sylvester Anemana, and a businessman; Richard Jakpa are alleged to have cost the state to lose €2.37 million in a deal to purchase 200 ambulances for the country between 2014 and 2016.
Richard Jakpa is said to have used his company Jakpa at Business, to present a proposal and term loan to the Ministry of Health to finance the supply of 200 ambulances to the Government.
Cabinet subsequently endorsed an Executive approval for the project, according to the AG.
The three have been dragged to the Accra High Court by the Attorney-General on five counts of wilfully causing financial loss to the state, abetment to wilfully cause financial loss to the state, contravention of the Public Procurement Act, and intentionally misapplying public property.
The country incurred a $2.4 million loss after 30 ambulances were procured in 2014 by the Ministry of Health, but were later found to be faulty.
With 200 ambulances originally supposed to be purchased, the government suspended the deal after the ones which had been delivered did not meet the required specifications.
Mr. Forson had earlier stated that the Finance Ministry at the time only “issued at sight letters of credit” on behalf of the Health Ministry after they had put in a request.
“The Ministry of Finance also instructed the Controller and Accountant General’s Department to pay for the bank charges accrued to the Bank of Ghana as a result of the issuance of letters of credit on behalf of the Ministry of Health,” Mr. Forson said.
WHO IS Cassiel Ato Forson?
Cassiel Ato Forson is a Ghanaian politician and member of the Seventh Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana representing the Ajumako-Enyan-Esiam Constituency in the Central Region on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress. In 2013 he served as the deputy minister for Finance.