The former minister of works and housing Samuel Atta Akyea has waded into the discussion surrounding the decision by the Attorney General, Dr Dominic Ayine, to discontinue the Saglemi affordable housing case against the Member of Parliament for Asutifi South, Collins Dauda, arguing that instead of the AG discontinuing the case, he should have added him, Atta Akyea, to the list of accused persons.
In an interview with The Law Lab, the former Abuakwa South MP disagreed with the reasons given for letting Collins Dauda off the prosecution hook, saying, “It doesn’t make sense.”
Dauda and four others had been charged with 70 counts of causing financial loss to the state.
However, not long after assuming office as the Attorney General, Dr Ayine discontinued the case, citing defects in the charges, inter alia.
Responding to a specific question posed to him by Aaron Asiedu-Antwi, host of The Law Lab, to the effect of what he makes of some people’s view that he is as guilty in the case as Collins Dauda, Atta Akyea disagreed flatly and suggested that rather than discontinuing the case on that basis, the AG could have amended the charges to include him.
“Why hasn’t he joined me [to the case]? Now, he has a superior understanding. It was possible to amend the charges to bring me in as the fifth accused that I also made unlawful payments,” the four-term former Abuakwa South legislator argued.
Further, he questioned why an individual who has made payments to the state’s loss should be let go merely because another person believed to be equally guilty of same has not (yet) been joined to the criminal trial.
“It’s illogical. It doesn’t make sense!” Atta Akyea fumed.
“Monumental criminality”
Samuel Atta Akyea revealed that he was the one who blew the alarm when he discovered wrongs committed against the state under the banner of the Saglemi project.
“I’m the one who saw through this monumental criminality. I informed the president and put together all the relevant documents.”
The Saglemi Affordable Housing Project was originally a 5,000-unit scheme, estimated to cost US$200 million, which the government borrowed in 2012. The cost, as approved by Parliament, included both the building and consistency.
Ultimately, however, only 1,506 units were built, for the same extravagant sum of $200 million, and these were left incomplete.
The erstwhile Akufo-Addo government initiated the Saglemi case against the individuals below, all of whom were believed to have played one key role or another in the project and to have caused loss to the nation: the former works and housing minister Alhaji Collins Dauda; Andrew Clocanas (now deceased), the former executive chairman of Construtora OAS Ghana Ltd; Alhaji Ziblim Yakubu, the former chief director of the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing; the former water resources, works and housing minister Kweku Agyeman-Mensah; and Nouvi Tetteh Angelo, the chief executive officer of Ridge Management Solutions Ghana Ltd.
Mohammed Muntala (The Law Lab)
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