Yaw Osafo Maafo
Yaw Osafo Maafo, former Minister for Youth and Sports, yesterday told an Accra Fast Track High Court, Financial Division, that the company that purportedly won the contract to construct two stadia in Sekondi and Tamale, VAMED, lacked the financial muscle to carry out the construction of the stadia for the Confederations of African Cup (CAN) 2008.
He told the court presided over by Justice John Ajet-Nassam in the case of GH¢51.28million judgment debt paid to Alfred Agbesi Woyome, NDC financier, that the decision Cabinet took to look for sole-sourcing ended up saving the nation an additional $100,000.
Woyome has been accused of defrauding by false pretences and causing financial loss to the state.
The former minister told the court under cross-examination by Osafo Buabeng, counsel for Woyome, and maintained that Cabinet took the decision before the tender board wrote its recommendation.
The witness, who said Cabinet had the duty to ensure the interest of the nation, maintained that the truncation of the bidding process did not mean anybody had won any contract for which that company should have been written to.
In addition, he denied that Cabinet was wrong when it decided to halt the bidding process and explained that the state was run by an executive president who was responsible for issues concerning money.
He said that point could have been argued if Cabinet had taken the decision after the tender board submitted its recommendation before Cabinet met, but that was not the case.
The former minister maintained his stance when Mr. Buabeng put it to him that he was, under the Public Procurement Act (PPA), obliged to write to VAMED in 30 days after the tender committee wrote, to which the witness said that would have been so if there was a winner after the bidding process.
Mr. Osafo-Maafo noted that there was no winner because the bidding process had been truncated and so he did not have to write to anybody as there was no contract between the state and any firm, adding, “I have come across a case where losers in a bid are paid.â€
The witness, who is a consultant, stated that there were over 70 companies which were interested in the CAN 2008 project and none of them were written to at each stage.
He also noted that they never dealt with VAMED Waterville and Waterville never signed any documents with them.
When asked by Mr. Buabeng whether or not he knew that VAMED had handed over its rights in the deal to Waterville, the witness said he had no idea about that.
According to him, Ghana had to borrow money from Barclays Bank to help finance the stadia construction, adding that with Shanghai Construction, the state paid 25% and the remaining was paid after each work was completed.
He admitted that the state applied for the loan before signing the MoU with Shanghai but said it was because the state was hard pressed for time in preparing for the tournament. He added that they did not truncate the bidding process just because of Shanghai but because VAMED had no financial muscle.
The case has been adjourned to July 25, 2012.
The witness, at the last hearing, said the accused person had failed to fulfill clause 71 of the agreement signed between the Government of Ghana, Waterville and Michelletti for Waterville which Woyome linked himself with to provide financial engineering.
The witness said this when he was continuing his examination in-chief led by chief state attorney in the case, Cynthia Lamptey, and noted that the failure of Woyome to get funding led the government of Ghana to borrow money locally from Barclays Bank for the rehabilitation of the Accra and Kumasi Sports stadia.
The former minister said Woyome, after getting the funding, was expected to put it in the Escrow account but that had not been done and tendered a copy of the said agreement, which he said was lengthy, to the court in evidence.
By Fidelia Achama
