Accra, Nov. 27, – Mr Philip
Akpeena Assibit, the first accused person in the Ghana Youth Employment and
Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA) case, said, his company paid all
monies due the Management and Development Productivity Institute (MDPI) for
consultancy services done for Goodwill International Group GIG).
The accused said this during
cross-examination by prosecution led by Mrs Evelyn Keelson, a Chief State
Attorney who pointed out to the accused that MDPI did receive any money from
the accused.
The state attorney said “You did
not pay any money to MDPI and no invoice or receipt are on record.”
Assibit however denied this and
said if it was so the MDPI would not have worked with his company and even
accommodate them in their office premises.
The State said MDPI did not come
after GIG for payment, because they did not conduct any consultancy services
for NYEP/ jointly or alone but the accused said it was not true that MDPI did
not do any work with GIG.
Mrs Keelson pointed to the
accused that, he added MDPI to project account not for consultancy services but
to deceive the authorities that GIG was collaborating with a credible public
institution but the accused denied and said they were part of the process.
She suggested to the accused that
between April 2011 and April 2012, he (Assibit) personally took GH₵1,948,626.68 from government
through a false representation but the accused said, he received the money on
behalf of the company, he worked for, since the company had a contract with
NYEP.
Mrs Keelson pointed out to the
accused that he paid the cheques he received from NYEP into his private account
rather than a supposed joint account, but he claimed, he paid the money into a
joint account.
“Witness testimonies, statements
and other documentations in court confirmed that there is an engagement between
GIG and MDPI and we worked together on various projects for which payment was
made,” he said.
“We were paid for work done
accordingly and some of the works were done with pre-funding budget,” Assibit
said defensively.
The State said the accused had no
single correspondent with the World Bank on the supposed consultancy but he
said it was true but that was because they were not consultants to the World
Bank but rather, it was the NYEP that engaged them.
He said the Ministry of Youth and
Sports and the NYEP provided them with sources of information on the project
from the World Bank.
He told the court that it would
be unfair for him to be held personally liable since they worked as a team of
consultants.
“I only worked within a team for
NYEP, so it will not be fair if I am singled out to blame for copying a
document.”
The Mr Abuga Pele, the former
National Co-ordinator of GYEEDA and Mr Assibit, a Representative of Goodwill
International Group (GIG) are facing various charges of causing financial loss
to the state to the tune of GH₵4.1 million.
Assibit is accused of putting in
false claims that he had secured a 65-million-dollar World Bank funding for the
creation of one million jobs for the youth, which led government to part with
GH₵4.1 million to his company but he failed to deliver per the agreement.
The case has been adjourned to
Tuesday November 28 by the High Court presided over by Mrs Afia Serwah
Asare-Botwe.
GNA
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