Two public officials accused of misappropriating funds of the defunct Ghana@50 Secretariat on Thursday appeared before an Accra Fast Track High Court charged with four counts of willfully causing financial loss to the state.
They are Dr Charles Wireko-Brobby, aka Tarzan, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana@50 Secretariat and Kwadwo Okyere Mpiani, Chairman of the National Planning Committee of the celebration.
They have pleaded not guilty to the charges and the court, presided over by Mr. Justice Samuel Marful-Sau, a Court of Appeal Judge, sitting with an additional responsibility as a High Court judge, admitted them to GH¢ 35-million self recognizance bail each to reappear on May 26.
The adjournment is to enable the defence team to secure and study copies of the Commission of Enquiry Report and prepare for their defence.
The trial judge indicated to the audience that he was taking preliminary charge of the matter as the substantive judge was indisposed.
The accused persons' appearance at the Court attracted dignitaries such as the ex-President John Agyekum Kufuor, Dr Anthony Akoto-Osei, an ex-Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance, Mr. K.T. Hammond, ex-deputy Energy Minister and other relations.
At exactly 12:50pm, Wireko Brobby, dressed in a white Ghana@50 "T" Shirt and a white trousers with a blue-black hat arrived in the company of his lawyers. At 1:08pm Mpiani, wearing a suit, also arrived.
He was followed by ex-President Kufuor who was smartly dressed in a blue black suit. Amidst a tight security, Mr. Kufuor received cheers and
greetings from lawyers and other relations who had gathered at the court.
Madam Gertrude Aikins, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), prayed the court to grant the accused persons adequate security regarding the bail terms to ensure that they appeared to stand trial.
Defence lawyers, however, prayed the court to admit them to self recognizance bail emphasizing that the accused persons had co-operated with the police who had earlier on put them on self recognizance bail.
Mr Akoto Ampaw, Counsel for Wireko-Brobby contended that they had not seen a copy of the Commission of Enquiry's report after the government white paper became public, adding the report was only in the hands of the state
and they needed to study it.
Mr. Yoni Kulendi, Counsel for Mpiani, said the defence had a fundamental preliminary objection in terms of the substantive and procedural propriety of the arraignment of the accused persons.
He submitted that the charges preferred against the accused persons were politically motivated and they had been mounted in clear breach of the laws of the land pointing out that "the pride of the constitution had been ignored".
According to him, the charges would also not stand the test of law because they were politically based.
He wandered the swift nature of the trial just after the issuance of the government white paper on the report, saying; "Just yesterday the accused persons were invited and charged the following day on the basis of a white paper which had been self gazetted".
The DPP told the court that Ghana's 50th independence celebration fell on March 2007. Prior to the anniversary, a sub-committee of cabinet known as National Planning Committee (NPC) was set up by the then President, Mr. John
Agyekum Kufuor, to oversee the organization and implementation of the celebrations.
She said Mpiani, the then Chief of Staff and Minister for Presidential Affairs, was appointed as the Chairman of the Committee.
Subsequently, Ms Aikins said, the Ghana@50 Secretariat was established in May 2006 and thereafter Wireko Brobby assumed the position as Chief Executive Officer of the Secretariat.
She said the celebration, which was to last for a year, started in January 2007 and ended in December 2007.
Meanwhile, the DPP said Ghana was scheduled to host the African Union Summit during the same year, so that the Secretariat was given the
responsibility of implementing the NPC's decision on both the celebration and the summit.
The DPP said a number of projects and activities were planned for the celebrations and in view of that, Parliament approved a total amount of
31.80 million dollars equivalent to 29.31 million Ghana cedis for the celebrations.
This, she said, was made up of 18.29 million Ghana cedis which was approved by Parliament on July 2006 and the second tranche, which was a loan of 11.8 million dollars equivalent to GH¢ 11.2 contracted from the Fidelity Bank and
approved by Parliament.
"Aside these sums approved by Parliament for the celebrations, huge sums of money appeared to have been spent on the celebrations, she said.
More than a year after the celebrations, the DPP said a number of the projects remained uncompleted and government was saddled with huge debts.
"It was against this background that a Commission of Inquiry was set up by President John Evans Atta Mills to enquire into the activities of the Ghana@50 and the entire celebrations.
The DPP said the Commission found out that even though Parliament approved on GH¢ 29.31 million for the celebrations, GH¢ 99,776, 388.44 had been spent on the celebrations, out of GH¢ 75,569,563.34 cedis was directly spent by
the Secretariat and the NPC.
"The Secretariat and the NPC therefore spent an amount of GH¢ 46,999,563.00 cedis in excess of the amount of money approved by Parliament for the celebrations," she said.
The DPP said the Commission also found out that Contrary to Articles 176 and 178 of the Constitution, the NPC and the Secretariat utilized all the Internally Generated Fund (IGF) totaling GH¢ 19,352,498.00 without Parliamentary approval.
These IGFs, the DPP said, were meant to be used in repaying the loan contracted from the Fidelity Bank.
According to the DPP, the NPC and the Secretariat also procured a bridge finance facility of GH¢ 10,438,036.7 and an overdraft facility of GH¢ 10 million from the Prudential Bank Limited without parliamentary approval and
that contravened Article 181 of the 1992 Constitution.
She said both facilities have attracted an interest of GH¢ 3,082,955.2 which was increasing government expenditure and causing financial loss to the state.