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The Office of the Attorney-General will appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal in Accra, on Tuesday, July 30, acquitting and discharging the Minority Leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, and Mr Richard Jakpa in the ambulance case, the Attorney-General and Minster of Justice, Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame, has announced.
This was contained in a statement signed and copied the Ghanaian Times by Mr Dame.
“The Office of the Attorney-General considers the decision of the Court of Appeal grossly unfair to the nation and inimical to the fight against impunity and abuse in public office. The Office will promptly file an appeal in order to erase the effect of this erroneous decision of the Court of Appeal,” the Attorney- General and Minister of Justice said.
He said “The Office of the Attorney-General considers the decision of the Court of Appeal to be perverse in the quest for public accountability and the rule of law. The decision clearly is heavily against the weight of the cogent evidence led by the prosecution in substantiation of all the charges against the accused persons at the trial.”
By a 2-1 majority decision, the Court of Appeal in Accra set aside the ruling of the trial High Court judge, Justice Serwaa Asare-Botwe delivered on March 30, 2024 asking the accused to open their defence.
According to Mr Dame, the vehicles purporting to be ambulances were imported into the country in December 2014 in violation of the contract governing the transaction.
He said the former Minister of Health, Ms Sherry Aryittey, had cautioned in writing against the importation of the vehicles into the country.
“There was thus no request by the Ministry of Health for the vehicles to be imported into the country, or for the letters of credit which were the means of payment for the vehicles under the contract, to be established,” Mr Dame said.
With no request from the Ministry of Health or any authorisation whatsoever, and at a time that the period for supply of the ambulances under the contract had even lapsed, the Attorney-General and Minster of Justice said Dr Forson, by letters dated August 7 and 14, 2014, instructed the Bank of Ghana and the Controller and Accountant-General to issue letters of credit for the payment for the vehicles.
“The letters of credit were consequently established on August 18, 2014. Big Sea General Trading LLC, the suppliers of the vehicles based in Dubai, whose contract had no parliamentary approval, proceeded to ship the vehicles on receipt of the letters of credit.”
The Attorney-General said that when the vehicles arrived, they were not of the kind specified in the contract.
He said apart from the absence of basic parts and equipment required for an ambulance, the National Ambulance Service and the Ministry of Health noted serious defects with every material part of the vehicles.
BY MALIK SULLEMANA
