A former Minister of Finance, Seth Terkper, has admitted that he granted his deputy, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, authorization to compose a letter to the Bank of Ghana (BoG) requesting the issuance of Letters of Credit (LCs) in favor of Big Sea General Trading Ltd for the procurement of 30 ambulances.

During his testimony on the previous day in a court presided over by a Court of Appeal judge with additional duties as a High Court judge, Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, Mr. Terkper explained that he approved this action in response to the legal advice from the Attorney-General and the Ministry's Legal Unit.

He stated, "The letter to the Bank of Ghana requesting the setup of the LC originated from the Ministry of Finance and had my full authorization."

Mr. Terkper clarified that this decision was made to prevent potential government liability in accordance with the guidance provided by the Attorney-General at that time.

In a different context, Dr. Forson, the Minority Leader, along with Richard Jakpa, a private entrepreneur, and Sylvester Anemana, a former Chief Director of the Ministry of Health, are facing allegations of causing a €2.37 million financial loss to the state in connection with the procurement of ambulances.

All three have pleaded not guilty to charges of deliberately causing financial loss to the state, aiding and abetting the willful causing of financial loss to the state, violating the Public Procurement Act, and intentionally misappropriating public assets.

The Attorney-General contends that Dr. Forson directed the LCs to be charged to the Ministry of Health's budget, contrary to the parliamentary approval for the ambulance procurement.

During his testimony, Mr. Terkper revealed that he had received an opinion from the Attorney-General in 2014, which emphasized that failure to execute the contract with Big Sea could create liability for the government. He stated that the Attorney-General's opinion clearly indicated that "all necessary government approvals had been obtained" for the contract and that this opinion was legally binding on all government agencies involved in the transaction.

During the cross-examination, Attorney-General Godfred Yeboah Dame inquired whether the payment for the ambulances had been made in error. Mr. Terkper admitted that the payment was indeed made in error, but this occurred because the ministry had believed at the time that Stanbic Bank's Letters of Credit were still valid under the Parliament-approved agreement. It was only after the Debt Management Unit of the Ministry of Finance alerted him to the fact that Stanbic Bank's Letters of Credit were no longer valid that the Finance Ministry decided to charge the Ministry of Health budget, contrary to what Parliament had initially approved.

He explained, "On the surface, it may appear contrary to what Parliament approved, but it's important to grasp the principle that all loans, including Letters of Credit, are ultimately charged to the capital budget of the ministry."

When questioned about why he had not disclosed his authorization of Dr. Forson's request for the establishment of the LC during the investigation by the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO), Mr. Terkper clarified that he lacked the necessary documents from his ministry at that time as he had left office and didn't want to rely on his memory to respond to investigators.

The case is scheduled to continue on Thursday, October 26, 2023.

Prosecution's Account: According to the facts presented by the Attorney-General in the charge sheet, in 2009, during the State of the Nation Address, the then President, Prof. John Evans Atta Mills, announced plans to purchase new ambulances to expand the operations of the National Ambulance Service.

Jakpa, a local representative of Big Sea General Trading Ltd, a Dubai-based company, approached the Ministry of Health with a proposal in which he claimed to have secured financing from Stanbic Bank for the supply of 200 ambulances to the government. Parliament granted approval for the financing agreement between the government and Stanbic Bank.

According to the facts, on November 19, 2012, Dr. Anemana sent a letter to the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) seeking approval to engage Big Sea through single sourcing for the supply of 200 ambulances.

Furthermore, on August 7, 2014, Dr. Forson wrote to the Bank of Ghana requesting Letters of Credit amounting to €3.95 million for the supply of 50 ambulances in favor of Big Sea. These Letters of Credit were subsequently released to Big Sea.