Rejoinder: Businessman wins 4 contracts with ‘fraudulent’ documents...

graphic.com.gh Jan - 16 - 2020 , 18:47 3 minutes read

My attention has been drawn to a publication on page 29 of the Daily Graphic issue of Thursday, January 9, 2020 and Graphic.com.gh claiming that the Central Regional Police Command has referred the docket on a case of alleged forgery and fraud involving the Managing Director of Tacoa Construction Limited, Mr Henry Tackie, to the Attorney-General’s Department for advice.

The story claimed that I, Mr Tackie, was arrested after investigations pointed out that my company and I allegedly presented fake bonds to secure four separate contracts from the University of Cape Coast (UCC).

I wish to state emphatically that I was never arrested by the Central Regional Police Command.

In April 2019, the UCC, under its Vice Chancellor, Prof. Joseph Gartey Ampiah, wrote a letter to my company notifying us of alleged fake bonds and gave us seven days to respond. My lawyers responded within two days, with copies of receipts of payments from the agent.

However, we later realised that the agent was not honest and immediately lodged a complaint at the police station for his arrest and prosecution. The police went to court and secured a bench warrant for his arrest and are currently looking for him.

However, out of the four contracts, two have been fully completed and advance payments duly made by us. The two others are ongoing and are at various stages of completion.

While all efforts had been made to complete those projects, the Vice Chancellor wrote to us terminating them, purportedly on the basis that the securities submitted for the signing of the contracts were all fake.

We then petitioned the Education Minister, Mr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, to investigate the circumstances of the illegal termination of the contracts. The minister directed the National Council of Tertiary Education (NCTE) to investigate the matter, but the UCC disrespectfully turned down several invitations by the committee.

Prior to that, we had already petitioned the President of the Ghana Institution of Surveyors, who is an agreed arbiter for the amicable resolution of any hitches to the completion of the projects. However, the university brazenly ignored this process too and through its lawyer, Solomon Faakye, dragged my company and I to the Cape Coast High Court to get an order to release the keys to the completed projects. The Cape Coast High Court at the last sitting referred the case to the Chief Justice in Accra for advice.

My lawyers, Gaisie Zwennes Hughes & Co, then dragged Prof. Ampiah and and his administrators to court for contempt in disregarding the high court’s directive.
It was after we cited them for contempt that they connived with some police officers in the region, led by the regional crime officer, to tarnish my image and that of my company, which has been in existence for over 45 years.

I want to state that the publication is a complete falsehood and an attempt by the UCC and its collaborators to tarnish the enviable reputation of a successful firm.
That is because I secured the four separate contracts from the UCC with genuine documents and have delivered, as most of the projects have been completed, but the UCC has failed to pay me.

I also want to state that the Central Regional Police Command has not concluded any investigations and no docket has been referred to the Attorney-General’s office for advice.

The regional crime officer is misleading the public with false information.

Gaisie Zwennes Hughes & Co,
Lawyers for Mr Henry Tackie.