Betty Mould-Iddrisu
Former Attorney-General Betty Iddrisu is before the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament for the third time to answer questions in respect of judgment debt payment to Construction Pioneers.
She has just taken the oath.
PAC Chairman, Albert Kan-Dapaah welcomes her.
We want to concentrate on the settlement issues.
A witness has told us that to the extent that the settlement document was not dated on the first page, and was not signed, it was odd.
That is of no legal effect, she responded.
If the comment that it was odd was made by a lawyer, that lawyer should have known better, she added.
Betty Mould:
Best practice requires that settlement should have been witnessed but it not really legally problematic if is not done.
Kan Dapaah asks if she is aware of taxes owed to the government of Ghana by Construction Pioneers.
Betty Mould:
But she responds having read a detailed letter from tax officials that she is not a tax expert to know if there were tax liabilities on the part of CP.
She says a good Samaritan had given her a June 2007 information from tax unit signed by one Diana Abbey which says CP has not been delinquent in its tax obligations.
She says there is no where in the settlement agreement for CP to evade taxes insisting accusations against her that she has conspired with CP to defraud the state are untenable.
Kan Dapaah interjects asking Betty to tone down on her emotions, stating she has done nothing to convince the Committee with respect to the tax issues.
Tempers flare as committee members raise voices at each other.
After several minutes, tempers cool down.
A Committee member proposes that the matter has become too controversial and that it be deferred to a Commission of enquiry but his suggestion has been shot down by the Committee chair.
Betty Mould is in a banter with the chairman over whether she signed a tax waiver.
Nana Ato Dadzie comes in with apology of some sorts if his client got excited at some point.
Source: Myjoyonline
