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I pocketed 700,000 Euros – Richard Jakpa tells high court

Mr Jakpa made the disclosure when he answered cross-examination questions from the Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame

Wilberforce Asare June 27, 2024

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The third accused person in the case of the Republic versus Cassiel Ato Forson and two others, Richard Jakpa has told the high court hearing the case that he was paid 700,000.00 Euros (28.7%) of the 2.37 million Euros the government of Ghana paid for 30 buses that were imported into the country as ambulances.

Mr Jakpa made the disclosure when he answered cross-examination questions from the Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame before Justice Afia Serwaa Asare Botwe’s Court on Thursday, 27 June 2024.

During his cross-examination, Richard Jakpa admitted that his company received 28.7% of the amount paid by the government to Big Sea under the ambulance contract, amounting to roughly €700,000.

Jakpa conceded this in his response to a question under cross-examination posed to him by the Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame.

Question: If you look at the agency agreement you signed with Big Sea Ltd, you were entitled to 10% of all monies paid under the ambulance contract?

Answer: That is so, but it is not my total entitlement. I was entitled to more by other clauses under the agreement.

Question: Out of the about €2.3 million paid by the government to Big Sea under the ambulance contract, you and Jakpa at Business earned 28.7% of it. In fact, about €700,000 was paid to you?

Answer: Yes, that was the amount paid to Jakpa at Business as an agent.

No parliamentary approval

At the same hearing, Richard Jakpa admitted in court that the controversial ambulance contract, which has resulted in the charges preferred against him and others was not approved by Parliament.

Richard Jakpa made the disclosure when he answered questions from the Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, in court on Thursday, 27 June 2024. He also indicated in court that he received 700,000 Euros representing 28.7% of the total monies paid to Big Sea by the government of Ghana for the defective buses.

Cross-examination

Question: Are you aware that the minister of health and minister of finance submitted a joint memorandum for the approval of the Stanbic loan facility?

Answer: Yes. I was verbally informed.

Question: Look at the joint memorandum submitted by the minister for health and the minister for finance. Do you see that Big Sea was not mentioned in any part of the memorandum?

Answer: The Big Sea could not have been mentioned here because this is a loan facility from Stanbic Bank to the Bank of Ghana. The sun of 15.8 million Euros did not come out of a vacuum.

Question: You are aware that after the approval by the cabinet of the Stanbic Bank facility, the two ministers again submitted a joint memorandum to Parliament?

Answer: That is correct.

Question: And Parliament approved that memorandum?

Answer: “That is not entirely correct. The executive arm presented a document to Parliament, which was in two parts, the financial terms and ambulance specifications. The document involved the technical specification and financial aspects of Stanbic Bank.

“There were two committees – Health Committee and Finance Committee, one dealt with the ambulance specifications and the other committee dealt with the financial aspect.

“The two committees approved the technical specifications and the financial aspect. The committees submitted the report to the house, and both NPP and NDC MP voted for it.”

Question: Please look at exhibit Q, the parliamentary approval of the Stanbic Bank facility. Is that correct?

Answer: That is it.

Question: Big Sea was never approved by Parliament to undertake the transaction.

Answer: I am not the minister of health, and neither do I work in Parliament to know this.

Question: Was Big Sea mentioned in the parliamentary approval

Answer: Big Sea was not mentioned

Question: This amount of money was supposed to be provided by Stanbic Bank

Answer: Yes, it was arranged by Big Sea and its agents.

Next sitting

Sitting has been adjourned to Tuesday 2 July for the Attorney General to continue the cross-examination of Jakpa. It is expected that the Attorney General will conclude his cross-examination of the third accused in the coming week.

Reporting by Wilberforce Asare in Accra

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