Q. Have a look at Exhibit B. Sir, the Government of Ghana, as you have indicated, was required to establish Letters of Credit for the purchase of the ambulances under clause 4 of the contract. Is that not so?
A. That is so.
Q. And under clause 4:2 bullet point 1, the Letters of Credit was to be established upon the signing of the contract. Is that not so?
A. That is so.
Q. Can you confirm when Exhibit B was executed?
A. My Lady, if I may read, the contracts which states that the Letters of Credit shall be established upon sight of goods.
Q. Please, have a look at exhibit 3 for A1. It is a letter from the Bank of Ghana to the Ministry of Health?
A. That is so.
Q. And in this letter, the Bank of Ghana was seeking approval or authorisation from the Ministry of Health to make certain payments in relation to the ambulances. Is that so?
A. That is so.
Q. Can you read the entire letter?
A. Reads…
Q. This letter was written after A1, on behalf of the Ministry of Finance, had written to the Bank of Ghana requesting for the setting of the Letters of Credit?
A. It was written earlier than the Bank of Ghana letter.
Q. It is quite clear the exhibit did not establish the Letters of Credit?
A. The establishment of the Letters of Credit was done on August7, 2014.
Q. It is quite clear that Exhibit A did not authorise any payment under the Letters of Credit?
A. If you look at the terms of the contract payment, it was to be done by Letters of Credit. So if you require for a Letter of Credit you are requesting for a payment.
Q. Are you aware that after Exhibit A was sent to the Bank of Ghana, the Ministry of Health had to apply for the establishment of the Letter of Credit?
A. I’m not aware.
Q. And there are documents in this court to show that the applicant was the Ministry of Health?
A. I have not seen any such documents.
Q. You will agree with me that you cannot authorise payment under Letters of Credit until the Letter of Credit is established?
A. I don’t think so.
Q. It is not possible for a person to authorise a payment under a Letters of Credit before the Letter of Credit is authorised?
A. That is not possible.
Q. I am suggesting to you that since at the time that Exhibit A was sent to the Bank of Ghana, no Letters of Credit for the ambulances had been established?
A. That is correct.
Q. Based on the answer that you have given, it is not correct to say that Exhibit A authorised the payment under the Letters of Credit?
A. I will insist it is correct, because I do not have any other evidence or correspondence that went into establishing the Letter of Credit. I have evidence, which confirms my answer, and I do not have any evidence to actually negate that fact.
Q. Please have a look at Exhibit B. What is the caption?
A. Establishment of Letter of Credit in favour of Big Sea. This letter makes reference to an earlier letter, which is what A1 wrote.
Q. You indicated that the 30 ambulances imported into the country have not been delivered to the Republic. Do you still insist?
A. Yes.
Q. I am suggesting to you that there is correspondence from the Ministry of Health that they have taken delivery of the ambulances?
A. I am not privy to that. What I know is that the letters that the previous minister wrote indicated that the ambulances were not fit for purpose, and had refused to take custody of them, and when Big Sea agreed to rectify the defects to the best of my knowledge.
Q. One of the Ministers was Alexander Segbefia?
A. That is correct.
Q. Before coming to testify, you reviewed all relevant documents in respect of the ambulance at the Ministry?
A. I reviewed documents that I sighted, and couldn’t have reviewed documents that I am not privy to.
Q. Do you know of any document in relation to the ambulances that you haven’t reviewed before coming to testify?
A. I do not know of any.
Q. Have a look at Exhibit AG. Kindly read the first line of Page 3.
A. The company so far delivered 30 ambulances, which did not meet the specifications stipulated in the contact.
Q. And that letter was written by Alex Segbefia?
A. That is so. But the letter also indicates suspension of all payments until the … are resolved in court. To me, this doesn’t constitute delivery of the ambulances.
Q. You indicated that the Office of the Attorney-General rendered a legal opinion on the execution of the contract between the Government of Ghana and Big Sea?
A. That is so.
Q. And that opinion is Exhibit X?
A. Yes.
Q. Please, have a look at Exhibit X and read?
A. Reads… we will be charged to put up a defence in court if sued…
Q. So in Exhibit X it was the considered opinion of the Attorney-General that the contract between Big Sea and Government of Ghana was valid and binding?
A. In the opinion of the Attorney-General I will say yes.
Q. And you are aware that Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) are bound by the opinion of the Attorney-General on legal matters?
A. I don’t know what you mean by bound, but if I understand you, I’ll say no.
Q. Are you aware that MDAs have a legal duty to comply with the legal advice of the Attorney-General?
A. I know they are to take and not abide. I say further that in this particular case that the Minister, Sherry Ayitey, responded to the Attorney-General that she did not have funds to enable her execute, so if ministers are bound to comply with the Attorney-General’s advice, then she wouldn’t have written that letter.
Q. Have a look at Exhibit X. Is that the reply of the Ministry of Health to the Attorney-General?
A. That is correct.
Q. Have you followed all the correspondence between the Ministry of Health and the Attorney-General regarding to advice of the Attorney-General to the Ministry in the ambulance contract?
A. I’ve sighted just one, which is marked as Exhibit Y.
Q. Are you aware that the Office of the Attorney-General replied to Exhibit Y, indicating that the MDAs and statutory institutions are bound on the question of law?
A. I have not sighted that letter.
Q. Take a look at this letter and confirm whether or not it is a letter from the Attorney-General to the Ministry of Health, in relation to the ambulance transaction?
A. What I can say is that on the face of this document, a letter from the Attorney-General to the Minster of Health was signed by the then deputy Attorney-General. I wouldn’t be in a position to confirm, and this is the first time I am seeing this.
Q. And you are testifying in your capacity as the Minister of Health in relation to matters regarding the Ministry of Health?
A. Yes.
Q. I am suggesting to you that the letter, dated June 9, 2014, from the Attorney-General to the Minister of Health with the caption ‘Re: Agreement between Big Sea and the Government of Ghana’, the Attorney-General informed the Ministry of Health that it was bound by the opinion of the Attorney-General on the questions of law?
A. That is an opinion from the Attorney-General. That is what it is.
Q. In your testimony before this court, you alleged that A1 wrote Exhibit A without recourse to the Ministry of Health and the commercial agreement between Government of Ghana and Big Sea Trading LLC?
A. That is so.
Q. Please, have a look at Exhibit A. That is the letter dated August 17, 2014. The first paragraph mentions the supplier agreement between the Government of Ghana and Big Sea. Is that not the case?
A. That is the case.
Q. And a number of persons and ministries have been copied?
A. That is the case.
Q. The first Minister copied is the Minister of Health?
A. That is so.
Q. Take a look at one of the correspondence you reviewed before testifying in court.
A. Yes.
Q. So you agree with me that it is not entirely correct that there was no reference or recourse to the Ministry of Health when Exhibit A was written?
A. I do not agree, because when such agreements are done, payments are triggered by the beneficiary ministry, and I was expecting to see a request from the Ministry of Health requesting the Ministry of Finance to make payment in accordance with the terms of the agreement.
Q. But you will see under Exhibit 3 for A1 that the Bank of Ghana wrote to the Ministry of Health to authorise payment under the Letter of Credit?
A. This is an invitation to the Ministry of Health to come and inspect documents in respect of the contract and cannot be a letter authorising payment.
Q. I suggest to you that Exhibit 3 for A1 does not say that?
A. That is my understanding.
Q. Have a look at Exhibit 1 for A1. Have you sighted this document? It is an application form for the Letter of Credit by the Ministry of Health?
A. No.
Q. Who is the applicant in Exhibit 1 for A1?
A. The Ministry of Health.
Q. Who signed the exhibit?
A. There are no names here. There are designations, Accountant General and Deputy Accountant General.
Case adjourned to today at 10.
