Ato Forson breached ambulance contract- Agyemang-Manu insists
Responding to questions under cross-examination, Mr. Agyemang-Manu emphasized that there are no documents at his Ministry to confirm the approval of the said contract which shows clearly that the then Health Minister did not approve of the same.
The Health Minister, Kwaku Agyemang Manu has insisted that the Former Deputy Finance Minister, Dr.Cassiel Ato Forson breached the terms of the contract between the Government of Ghana and Big Sea Limited which culminated in the supply of the defective ambulances.
He noted that the decision of Ato Forson to write to the Bank of Ghana relative to the establishment of Letters of Credit leading to the importation of the said ambulances amounted to a breach of the contract.
Responding to questions under cross-examination, Mr. Agyemang-Manu further emphasized that there are no documents at his Ministry to confirm the approval of the said contract which shows clearly that the then Health Minister did not approve of the same.
Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, and two others; Dr. Sylvester Anemana and businessman, Richard Jakpa have been charged by the state for causing financial loss, over the importation of 200 ambulances in a contract between the Ministry of Health and a Dubai-based company in 2012.
They have been charged with five counts of willfully causing financial loss to the state, abetment to willfully cause financial loss to the state, contravention of the Public Procurement Act and intentionally misapplying public property, and have all pleaded not guilty to the charges.
On claims that it was the Controller and Accountant General that wrote to the BoG relative to the establishment of the Letters of Credit, Mr. Manu disagreed noting that the said letter by the Controller was rather in response to Dr.Ato Forson’s earlier one requesting for the same to be done.
Additionally, the Health Minister made reference to letters written by Ato Forson requesting Letters of Credit which according to him amounted to the latter’s authorization of payment for the ambulances.
On the issue of whether there is correspondence from his Ministry regarding whether they had taken custody of the ambulance, Mr. Agyemang-Manu said that letters written by previous Health Ministers indicated that the ambulances were not fit for purpose and thus did not take custody of them.
