Ato Forson trial: Letters of credit don’t constitute payment – Agyeman Manu tells court

Minister of Health, Kweku Agyeman Manu, has admitted at a Financial and Economic Court in Accra that letters of credit in themselves do not constitute payment in the trial involving Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson.

The Minister added that letters of credit are only guarantees of payment pending the meeting of specified conditions.

Mr. Agyeman Manu made these disclosures during cross-examination by Counsel for Dr. Ato Forson, Dr. Abdul Aziz Basit Bamba, after giving his evidence in chief.

The Minister said he was quite familiar with LCs and that if specified conditions are not met, no payment can be made under the LC.

Background

The Minister for Health, Kwaku Agyeman Manu, on Tuesday 28 June 2022, mounted the witness to testify as a prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of Cassiel Ato Forson and two others.

Dr. Ato Forson, a former deputy minister of finance, who is also the National Democratic Congress Member of Parliament for Ajumako Enyan Esiam, and the ranking member on the Finance Committee of Parliament, has been charged with Sylvester Anemana, a former Chief Director of the Ministry of Health and Richard Jakpa, a businessman, for allegedly causing financial loss of €2.37 million to the state in a deal to purchase some 200 ambulances for the country between 2014 and 2016.

In court on Tuesday, June 28, Kweku Agyemang Manu, detailed to the court how the deal came to his attention

While being led by Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame, as 2nd Prosecution Witness in the ongoing trial, the minister as part of his testimony in tendering in correspondences said the deal came to his attention when he became the minister of health.

Agyeman-Manu also submitted some documents in support of his evidence against former Deputy Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, and two others.

“I was appointed as Chairman of the Transition Committee on Health after the change over of government. During the transition deliberations, it came to my notice that ambulances were supposedly procured by the Ministry of Health but had not been delivered. Later after the transition, I was appointed as substantive Minister of Health.

“My handing over notes indicated the lack of ambulances. So I became interested in the ambulances that had still not been delivered to the Ministry.