‘Betty Copied Approval Letters To Newman’

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Created on Wednesday, 24 July 2013 00:00

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‘Betty Copied Approval Letters To Newman’

The Accra Financial High Court was yesterday told that the letters written by former Authority-General, Betty Mould-Iddrisu, justifying claims made by Alfred Agbesi Woyome, were copied the former Chief of Staff, Mr. Martin Martey Newman.

“Every step she took, she informed Mr. Martey Newman as far as the records show”, stated Mr. Suleiman Ahmed, the Acting Chief Director of the Ministry of Justice.

He could, however, not tell whether Mr. Newman objected to the payment or not, since he said he had not seen any letter to that effect.

Mr. Ahmed was concluding his evidence in the case in which Mr. Woyome is being tried for causing financial loss to the State.

Asked whether it would be right to say that the Office of the correspondence between Mrs. Mould-Iddrisu and the Finance Ministry, Mr Ahmed answered positively, “yes, on the face of the documents”.

He agreed with counsel that the AG’s letter, dated April 29, 2009 was sent to the Office of the Chief of Staff before the first installment was paid, hence Mr. Martey Newman was aware of the payment. In that letter, the AG requested that Mr. Woyome be paid GH?7,094,493.53.

He also confirmed that the AG received an opinion from Mr. Rex Danquah of the CAN 2008 LOC, which Woyome’s lawyers tendered in evidence through Mr. Ahmed.

In that letter, he agreed with Mr. Buabeng that Mr. Danquah referred the issue of the Financial Engineering by Mr. Woyome to members of the three-man financial committee set up, one of whom was Mr. Paul Asimenu.

He also confirmed counsel’s suggestion that Mr. Asimenu wrote a letter to the AG advising her that the claim by Mr. Woyome were justified and, therefore, he was entitled to the two per cent of the amount involved in the project.

Mr. Ahmed also told the court that part of the GH?51.2 million paid to Woyome by the State was under the tenure of former Attorney General, Martin Amidu.

He said the first installment of GH?7 million plus was paid under Mrs. Betty Mould-Iddrisu in 2010, but the final installment was paid in 2011, at the time that Mr. Amidu was the Minister of Justice and Attorney General.

Mr. Amidu said he has not sighted any letter from Mr. Amidu either asking the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning at the time to pay or cease payment of the rest of the amount to Mr. Woyome.

Mr. Ahmed agree with counsel that the Solicitor General, Ahmed Gaisie, wrote a memo to Mr. Martin Amidu, dated November 3, 2011 in which she stated that the case of the AG against Woyome was very week.

Meanwhile, the investigator would mount the witness box next October 16. The long adjournment is in view of the upcoming legal vacation, which begins in August.

Source: The Ghanaian Times