The Attorney-General has served notice it will challenge a decision of the Court of Appeal that allowed an appeal against the ruling of the Accra High Court dated 30th March, 2023 in the high-stakes legal battle involving former Deputy Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson and two others in the infamous Ambulance Case.
The court, in a 2:1 decision, overturned the previous order from the trial court, which required Dr. Ato Forson and Jakpa to open their defense.
The High Court had earlier dismissed a submission of no case filed by the Minority leader Ato Forson and other defendants and ordered them to open their defense.
Attorney-General, Godfred Yaw Dame expressed strong disapproval of the appellate court’s ruling and argued the decision is grossly unfair to the nation and inimical to the fight against impunity and abuse in public office.
“We will promptly file an appeal to erase the effect of this erroneous decision of the Court of Appeal,” he said.
Minority Cassiel Ato Forson and Richard Jakpa, who is a representative for Big Sea, were accused of causing a financial loss of €2.37 million to the State in a deal to purchase 200 ambulances for the country between 2014 and 2016.
A statement issued by the Attorney General following the Court’s decision explained that evidence presented by the prosecution indicated that the then Minister for Health, Ms. Sherry Aryittey, had warned against the importation and that no request or authorization had been made by the Ministry of Health for these vehicles or for the Letters Of Credit used as payment.
Ato Forson is accused of instructing the Bank of Ghana and the Controller and Accountant-General to issue Letters of Credit for the transaction in August 2014 despite the warnings, after the contract period had lapsed.
The vehicles, supplied by Big Sea General Trading LLC from Dubai, arrived with significant defects, lacking basic parts and equipment necessary for ambulances.
According to the AG, Former Minister for Health Dr. Alex Segbefia described the vehicles as “ordinary vans” unfit for their intended purpose, adding that a report by authorized Mercedes Benz dealers, commissioned by the Ministry of Health, confirmed the vehicles could not be converted into ambulances.
These findings, he said, have fuelled the Attorney-General’s push for accountability and justice.
The statement said, “When the vehicles arrived, they were not of the kind specified in the contract. Further, apart from the absence of basic parts and equipment required for an ambulance, the National Ambulance Service and the Ministry of Health noted serious defects with every material part of the vehicles.”
“The defects were so irremediable that from the time the vehicles started arriving in December, 2014 up to January 2017 when the erstwhile John Mahama administration left office, they could not be converted into ambulances.”
The AG stressed that the decision of the Court of Appeal is perverse in the quest for public accountability and the rule of law.
“It is heavily against the weight of the cogent evidence led by the prosecution in substantiation of all the charges against the accused persons at the trial,” Mr. Dame emphasized.