$7 million loan document can't be traced

The Clerk of Parliament, Mr. Rex Owusu-Ansah, who appeared as a prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of Mr. Ibrahaim Adam and five others over the Quality Grain saga, disclosed to the court yesterday that he could not trace the document of the $7 million loan agreement approved by Parliament to Mrs. Rene Woodard.

"At the moment I have not been able to trace a copy of the agreement in Parliament's archives," he told the court.

Led in his evidence-in-chief by Mr. Osafo Samapong, Director of Public Prosecutions, the Clerk of Parliament, who was also acting as Secretary to the Finance Committee, told the court that Parliament only dealt with US Quality Grain Incorporated, and that the Ghana Quality Grain Company did not feature in their deliberations.

He told the Fast Track Court, presided over by Justice Kwame Afreh, that apart from the $7 million loan, which was approved by a unanimous vote of 126 Members of Parliament, they had never sat on the Quality Grain to approve any loan again.

Questioned by Mr. Osafo Sampong whether he had noticed that the government was the guarantor of the loan for the Republic of Ghana, and at the same time the borrower, he answered in the affirmative.

Those on trial are Dr. Samuel Dapaah, a former director of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Kwame Peprah, former Minister of Finance, Dr. George Yankey, former Director of Legal Sector Private and Financial Institutes Division of the Ministry of Finance, Nana Ato Dadzie, former Chief of Staff and Kwesi Ahwoi, Chief Executive of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre.

They have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and causing financial loss of more than ?20 million to the state.

Mr. Owusu Ansah, who tendered in several Parliamentary documents on the loan agreement, told the court that from hindsight there was a discrepancy on the loan adding that the order of proceedings had $5.9 million, while the memoranda had $7 million on it.

He told the court that when this discrepancy was brought to the notice of the Minister of Finance, he told Parliament to take the highest figure as the right one.

Giving the background to the loan agreement from the US Exim Bank, which was laid before Parliament, he said that in 1996 Parliament was informed about the loan agreement and it was laid by the then Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, which was subsequently brought to Parliament for approval.

Another prosecution witness, who is the President of Ghana Fisheries and Farmers Association, Mr. Bismark Doko Nattey narrated his experience with Ms. Cotton.

He told the court that he met Ms. Cotton after Mr. Ibrahim Adam had introduced him to her during one of their meetings with sector Minister of Food and Agriculture.

He told the court that after meeting with Ms. Cotton, she informed him that she wanted to do the farming business with the farmers and that any farmer who milled at her place will get a ten-cedi rebate.

Mr. Nartey said that he was later asked to sign a document at the Registry Department to be a member of Quality Grain, which he obliged.

Mr. Nartey told the court that after that he never saw the woman again and despite several appeals to the then government it became difficult to get Ms. Cotton.