The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for Wa West, Mr. Peter Lanchene Toobu has accused government of trying to cow the Minority Members in Parliament into submission by dragging Hon Cassiel Ato Forson to court.
The Member of Parliament for Ajumako-Enyan-Esiam, Cassiel Ato Forson together with two others, has been dragged to the High Court on five counts of willfully causing financial loss to the state, contravening the Procurement Act, and misapplying public property.
According to the facts of the case, Dr Ato Forson, who doubles as the Ranking Member of the Finance Committee of Parliament executed a contract by the government of Ghana to purchase some 200 ambulances for the National Ambulance Service when he was a Deputy Finance Minister under the erstwhile Mahama administration.
Despite the granting of a medium-term loan facility of €15.8 million for the 200 ambulances, only 10 were shipped to Ghana in 2014.
“A post-delivery inspection of the first batch of 10 ambulances revealed that same were without any medical equipment in them. Other fundamental defects included defects on the body of the vehicles and the patient compartment of the ambulances,” the writ noted.
However, the Wa West MP says it's an attempt to silence the "vociferous" minority MPs.
Speaking in an interview on Neat FM's Me Man Nti programme, he defended the MP "insisting he's done nothing wrong. he was a deputy minister you only take instructions from the substantive minister...this one is just an attempt to cow people; an attempt to silence the vociferous minority in Parliament. Ato Forson was a deputy Minister and took instructions from his minister..."
Listen to him in the video below
Bail
Meanwhile, Dr. Ato Forson has been granted a self-reconnaissance bail to the tune of three (3) million Ghana cedis.
He is to file his disclosure by February 8, 2022, and return on February 15 for Case Management Conference.
Source: Peacefmonline.com
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