$4m NCA contract lacked board approval — Witness

It has emerged that a $4-million contract between the National Communications Authority (NCA) and a private company, Infralocks Development Limited, did not receive board approval.

According to the Director in charge of Legal and Administration at the NCA, Mrs Abena Asafu-Adjei, the withdrawal of the amount from the NCA’s account to purchase surveillance gadgets was also not approved by the board of directors of the authority.

Mrs Asafu-Adjei, who is the first prosecution witness in the trial of four former board members of the NCA and a businessman, told the High Court that the 2015 minutes of the board showed that approval was not given for the transaction.

Led by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Mrs Yvonne Attakorah-Obuobisa, to give her evidence-in-chief, the prosecution witness further indicated that the contract between the NCA and IDL was not discussed at any of the board meetings.

Read also: NCA didn’t budget for surveillance gadgets — Witness

Money for GBC

Mrs Asafu-Adjei told the court, presided over by Mr Justice Eric Kyei-Baffour, that the 137th minutes of the NCA Board  indicated that the board had approved a request from the then Minister of Communications for the commission to support the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) with GH¢2.2 million to procure some equipment for its operations.

She said there was no other form of support apart from the one that was given the GBC.

One of the defence lawyers, Mr Samuel Cudjoe, prayed the court to direct the prosecution to furnish the defence team with the book which contained the minutes from the board, but the court declined.

Meanwhile, the defence team has been furnished with photocopies of the minutes of the Board of Directors of the NCA, which has a bearing on the case.

Mrs Asafu-Adjei has since finished with her evidence-in-chief, which began on January 16, 2018.

Cross-examination

Answering questions under cross-examination from Mr Thaddeus Sory, counsel for the first accused person, Mr Eugene Baffoe-Bonnie, former Board Chairman of the NCA, Mrs Asafu-Adjei denied assertions that the decision to procure the gadgets was as a result of a request from the National Security.

 Mr Sory suggested to Mrs Asafu-Adjei that the NCA could not have passed the acquisition of the equipment through the regular procurement process because of its security implications.

Disagreeing with Mr Sory, the prosecution witness told the court that National Security had a huge budget to the extent that it did not need any form of financial support from any governmental agency.

The following transpired between Mr Sory and Mrs Asafu-Adjei:

Mr Sory: I am suggesting to you that as a National Security measure, such issues are not subjected to general rules of procurement.

Mrs Asafu-Adjei: In my 14 years at NCA, National Security has never ever asked the NCA for support because it is a notorious fact that National Security has a huge budget.

Are you upset?

The issue of Mrs Asafu-Adjei being asked to immediately proceed on leave in 2016 came up.

Mr Sory suggested that Mrs Asafu-Adjei bore a grudge against the former board chairman, but she denied and said: “The first accused person is my good friend.”

Asked if she was upset for being asked to proceed on eight months’ accumulated leave, she said: “As a human being, I will naturally be upset for being asked to proceed on leave with immediate affect.”

Request

Mr Agbesi Dzakpasu, counsel for the second accused person, Mr William Matthew Tetteh Tevie, former Director-General of the NCA, subjected the prosecution witness to a barrage of questions on the minutes of a meeting of the Finance Committee of the NCA Board.

The cross-examination had to be stalled until January 23, 2018 to enable the witness to furnish Mr Dzakpasu with the terms of reference of the board of directors of the NCA, as well as the Finance Committee.

The trial

Four former members of the Board of Directors of the NCA — Baffoe-Bonnie, Tevie, Nana Owusu Ensaw and Alhaji Salifu Mimina Osman — and a businessman, George Derek Oppong, have been accused of playing various roles leading to the loss of $4 million to the state.

They have pleaded not guilty to various charges preferred against them.