Minister of Information, Zita Okaikoi, was at an Accra Fast Track High Court yesterday to testify in the case involving her predecessor, Stephen Asamoah Boateng, and eight others being tried for their role in a GH˘86,915.85 renovation deal at the Ministry.
Mrs. Okaikoi told the court how she uncovered the deal which the ministry allegedly entered into without due process.Mr. Asamoah Boateng and his wife Zuleika Jennifer Lorwia, face two counts of conspiracy and contravention of the Public Procurement Act each, while former Deputy Minister of Information, Frank Agyekum faces four counts of conspiracy, contravention of the Public Procurement Act, attempt to defraud by false pretences and deceiving public officer.
Former Director of Finance and Administration, Kofi Asamoah Boateng, Deputy Director of Finance, Kwabena Denkyira, and Dominic Yaw Sampong, former acting Chief Director, all of the Ministry face nine, two and three counts, respectively. Two managers of Supreme Procurement Agencies Limited, Prosper Aku and Yasmin Domua, also face five and one count.
All the accused have pleaded not guilty to their respective charges and have been granted GH˘10,000 bail with one surety each. Asamoah Boateng and his wife have deposited their passports with the court as part of the bail condition.Led in evidence by Anthony Gyambiby, a Chief State Attorney, Mrs Okaikoi said that while going through her official records on June 5, after she had assumed office, she came across a letter dated May 29, 2009 addressed to the Minister of Finance.
She told the court that the letter which was signed by Mr Sampong on her behalf, was requesting the Ministry of Finance to release GH˘86,915.85 for onward payment to Plexiform Ventures, the contractor who undertook the project.She said that she was surprised by the letter because it was not brought to her to sign although she was at the time in her office. She therefore wrote to the Ministry of Finance on June 8, 2009 to immediately stop the release of the contract amount, she said adding that under the Public Procurement Act, a minister could only sign for an amount not exceeding GH˘50,000. She said she also wrote to the Chief of Staff to inform him about the development after which she called a management meeting which was attended by 15 people including Mr Denkyira, Mr Sampong and her two deputies.
Mrs Okaikoi told the court that at that meeting, she questioned Mr Sampong why he wrote and signed the letter on her behalf without her knowledge,, and he apologised.“I also asked him about the kind of renovation work Plexiform Ventures did and he said it was the tiling of my office, the deputy minister’s and his own office.” According to Mrs Okaikoi, Mr Sampong told her at the meeting that the Finance Ministry authorized payment of the contract sum but the principal accountant at the Information Ministry, Lawrence Dzakpa, refused payment on the basis that the letter requesting for payment did not have supporting documents.
Mrs Okaikoi said Mr Sampong admitted that the contract for the job was not put under bidding before being awarded to Plexiform Ventures. She said that according to Mr Sampong, when Mr Asamoah Boateng took office in July 2008, he asked that all investment activities be put aside and the budget channeled to the renovation work.
Mrs Okaikoi said she asked Mr Sampong if he had documents to support the letter he wrote requesting for funds to be released and he answered affirmative, but added that the documents were secured after payment was refused by the Principal Accountant.She said, she told the meeting that she was not happy about the issue and that she was going to forward Mr Sampong’s letter to the security agencies to investigate the matter.
She said she subsequently handed the letter to Mr Ablakwa who sent it to the Bureau of National Investigations.According to Mrs Okaikoi, Mr Sampong kept apologizing to her even after the meeting and at one point while she was on admission at a hospital, Mr Sampong called her on phone to inform her of his retirement. “I asked him to prepare his handing over notes. I didn’t see him again until today in court.” The May 29, 2009 letter written by Mr Sampong and that of the Minister on June 8, 2009 to the Ministry of Finance was both tendered in evidence. The case has been adjourned to September 17 when Mrs Okaikoi is expected to be cross-examined.
