I carried 20,000- dollar emergency fund to Sudan -GFA Boss

Mr Emmanuel Asamoah Owusu-Ansah, Acting Chairman of the Ghana Football Association told the Fast Track High Court in Accra trying ex-Youth and Sports Minister, Mallam Yusuf Issa that he carried along with him to Khartoum an "emergency sum" of 20,000 dollars for the Black Stars World Cup match against Sudan.

Giving evidence as a prosecution witness, Mr Owusu-Ansah, who headed the GFA delegation, said he did so because Mallam Issah made him aware prior to his (witness) departure that the money for the players' bonuses was not ready.

Mallam Issa is facing a two-count charge of stealing 46,000 dollars (meant for bonuses for the players) and fraudulently causing financial loss to the state.

He has pleaded not guilty and is on 500,000 cedi bail. Witness rejected a suggestion by defence counsel, Mr Ambrose Derry that he took the money because he knew that Mallam Issa's suitcase, which contained the 46,000 dollars, would never arrive in Khartoum.

He said since the players would demand their per diem on their arrival, he thought it prudent to carry the 20,000 dollars to meet such eventualities. Witness told the court that the former minister handed a brown envelope containing 8,650 dollars to him in Khartoum in the presence of Mr Kudjoe Fianoo, Welfare officer and Mr Kojo Bonsu, an aspiring GFA chairman, to settle the per diem of the contingent.

He said it was then that Mallam Issa told him that the bag containing the money had not arrived and asked how the players winning bonuses could be paid.

Mr Owusu-Ansah said he told him that since there were only four foreign-based players, he could use the 8,650 to pay those players should the team win while the locals could be paid back home.

However, this did not materialise because the team lost 0-1 to Sudan. Earlier, Mr Dan Piimi, Acting Chief Director of the ministry of Youth and Sports gave evidence.

Cross- examined by Mr Derry, Mr Piimi who was the sixth Prosecution witness, rejected suggestions of malfeasance against him by defence counsel.

Counsel had put it to witness that before Mallam Issa assumed office, he discovered that inventory taken prior to his appointment did not tally with the actual things he met in the office.

Mr Piimi denied that when the office of the former Deputy minister under the NDC government was inspected the place was empty contrary to what had been stated in the inventory.

Witness explained that even though the main items had been deposited in "the next room" there were a few more items in the deputy minister's office.

Counsel also confronted Mr Piimi with an accusation of incompetence levelled against him by the ex-minister over his handling of a brief on an Egyptian delegation to discuss the model of an Olympic size stadium.

Witness admitted that he provided the ex-minister with the model of the Accra Sports Stadium instead of what he requested for but this was because the Olympic model could not be located.

Counsel had pointed out to Mr Piimi that he embarrassed the accused when he could not identify what type of model he was dealing with until one of the envoys told him "this could not be an Olympics size stadium model".

Sitting continues on Thursday.