The former Chief of Staff, Nana Ato Dadzie on Friday told the Fast Track Court in Accra that by dint of hard work he contributed to save seven million cedis for the state in the Quality Grain Project.
He said he was asked by former Vice President John Evans Atta Mills to be the Controlling Officer in-charge of the resettlement and payment of compensation to free the site for the Aveyime Rice Project to take off.
The former Chief of Staff, who was opening his defence at the court, chaired by Mr Justice Kwame Afreh, an Appeal Court Judge sitting as a High Court Judge, explained that the seven million cedis was saved because he was meticulous about the payment of the compensation.
Dadzie, together with five others are facing charges of conspiracy to commit crime and causing financial loss of over 20 million dollars to the state.
All the accused persons have denied the charges and the court has granted them self-recognisance bail.
They are Ibrahim Adam, a former Minister of Food and Agriculture, Samuel Dapaah; former Chief Director of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture; Kwame Peprah, former Finance Minister; George Yankey, former Director of the Legal Sector, Private and Institutions Division of the Ministry of Finance.
Dadzie, who was led in evidence by his defence counsel, Nana Adjei Ampofo, told the court that the government approved the project and also guaranteed it in 1996, adding that, the project subsequently received parliamentary approval.
Dadzie said sometime in 1997 reports were made to Cabinet about the delay in the project, which was caused by the refusal of the settlers on the land to vacate because they were demanding compensation and resettlement.
It was for this reason, he said, that the former Vice President Mills was mandated to see to the resolution of the problem.
Dadzie said the then Vice President caused an ad hoc committee to be formed and tasked to find out how many people were to be compensated and to be resettled.
He insisted that all the payments were to be made in cheques and thumb printed as a security measures, saying the cheques were paid into the Mepe Rural Bank.
"With regard to the resettlement, my office only paid contractors and suppliers, who built the houses for the beneficiaries."
He said after the exercise his office was audited by the Auditor-General's Department and no adverse finding were made. Proceeding continues on Thursday, February 7.
