€2.37m payment for ambulances was in error – Seth Terkper tells court

Former Minister of Finance, Seth Terkper, has admitted that payment for the defective ambulances, for which his then deputy, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, is standing trial, was made in error, dailyguidenetwork.com reports

In his testimony, Mr. Terkper stated, "Yes, but nothing that major conditions in the contract had been breached and attention had been drawn to it by the Attorney General."

He also admitted that no contract had been signed per the agreement for the delivery of the ambulances before Dr. Forson wrote the letter requesting the establishment of the letters of credit.

"It is your case that the payment for the ambulances was made in error?" Mr. Dame further asked.

"Yes, that is what the contract specifies, and therefore it is the responsibility of the Ministry of Health to ensure that this provision relating to signing the contract had been made before payments were made," Mr. Terkper responded.

The trial involves Dr. Ato Forson, Sylvester Anemana, a former Chief Director at the Ministry of Health, and private businessman Richard Jakpa, who are facing charges related to wilfully causing a financial loss of €2.37 million to the state through a contract to purchase 200 ambulances for the Ministry of Health.

Mr. Terkper authorized Dr. Forson to write to the Bank of Ghana to establish the letters of credit based on advice from the Office of the Attorney General, urging the Ministry of Finance to honour the contract to avoid the government incurring financial liabilities.

During cross-examination, Mr. Terkper clarified that he did not indicate his approval for the payment when invited as part of the investigation, citing that he had left office and could not rely on his memory to provide a statement of legal consequences.




The former Finance Minister emphasized that the documents before the court now, constituted the input for the letter that was written to the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) for the establishment of the letters of credit.

Mr. Dame, the Attorney General, highlighted that Dr. Forson authorized payment for the ambulances from the budget of the Ministry of Health, contrary to the means of payment approved by Parliament, which was a Stanbic Bank facility. Mr. Terkper explained that all loans, including the letters of credit, are ultimately charged to the capital budget of the ministry.

However, when reminded that this principle applies only when the loan has been disbursed by the bank, which was not the case with the ambulance payment, Mr. Terkper mentioned that the Stanbic loan had lapsed, and the Ministry of Finance attempted to reactivate it, but it was not possible.

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