Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, a former deputy minister of finance, will question nine witnesses as part of his defense against charges that he defrauded the state of €2.37 million in a contract to buy 200 ambulances between 2014 and 2016.
Dr. Aziz Bamba, the attorney for Dr. Forson, revealed this on Tuesday, April 18, in the Accra High Court. He said that because some of the witnesses were abroad, he was unable to meet with them.
He filed two requests with the court, requesting that it give his client extra time to submit the witness statements as well as disclosures from the prosecution.
Richard Jakpa, a businessman, and Sylvester Anemana, a former chief director of the ministry of health, will each call six and five witnesses in support of their respective defenses.
Response of the court
The two applications were approved by the court, which was presided over by Justice Afia Serwaa Asare-Botwe, a Justice of the Court of Appeal who also serves as a judge on the High Court, but she made it clear that she would not tolerate any delays in the trial.
She said that the witnesses could compose their statements using technology, get them signed, and transmit them to the court to be filed.
They might then be cross-examined while hiding behind a computer somewhere. I'm hoping to finish all of my cases by August 31, when we break, so I can take care of my responsibilities at the Court of Appeal," she remarked.
The prosecution has until April 21 of this year to make disclosures, while the defense has until May 24 to provide witness statements and evidence, according to Justice Asare-Botwe.
On May 9, hearings will resume in preparation for a case management meeting.
The judge concluded that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against Dr. Forson, who is presently the Minority Leader in Parliament, and the two other accused parties, and she ordered them to begin their defenses.
The defendants have entered not guilty pleas to five counts, including willfully misusing public property and causing the state to suffer financial damage while aiding in the violation of the Public Procurement Act.
ambulance contract
According to the evidence provided by the prosecution and attached to the charge sheet, the then-President, Prof. John Evans Atta Mills, mentioned plans to increase the National Ambulance Service's activities in 2009 at his State of the Nation Address.
Following that, Mr. Jakpa, a local agent of the Dubai-based Big Sea General Trading Limited, approached the Ministry of Health with a proposal that he had secured financing from the Stanbic Bank for the provision of 200 ambulances.
The funding arrangement between the government and Stanbic Bank was authorized by parliament.
The facts state that Mr. Anemana wrote to the Public Procurement Authority on November 19, 2012, requesting permission to contract with Big Sea through single sourcing for the delivery of 200 ambulances.
According to the facts, Dr. Forson requested letters of credit for €3.95 million from the Bank of Ghana on August 7, 2014, to purchase 50 ambulances for Big Sea.
Therefore, Big Sea received the letters of credit.
According to the facts, 30 ambulances were acquired for a total of €2.37 million; however, it was determined that all of them were "not fit for purpose" and did not meet ambulance criteria.
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