Saglemi Housing Trial: Prosecution to call 5 witnesses on July 10

The trial case involving the former Minister of Water, Resources, Works and Housing, Alhaji Collins Dauda, and four others on the Saglemi Affordable Housing Project is set to call its first witness on July 10, 2023.

This was sighted in a Daily Graphic Newspaper report dated June 30, 2023.

According to the report, the court scheduled July 10, 2023, after it completed the Case Management Conference (CMC) last Monday, June 26, 2023.

The court was presided over by Justice Ernest Owusi-Dapaa.

The prosecution plans to call five witnesses to prove their case against the former minister and his associates, who are being accused of causing the state a financial loss of $200 million through the Saglemi Affordable Housing Project.

The former minister is currently standing trial together with his successor, Dr Kwaku Agyeman-Mansah; the Chief Director at the ministry from 2009 to 2017, Alhaji Ziblim Yakubu; the Executive Chairman of Construtora OAS, the Brazilian company which constructed the affordable housing project, Andrew Clocanas and a director of RMS, the Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) consultancy subcontractor, Nouvi Tetteh Angelo.

The five accused have all pleaded not guilty to the 72 counts charge including willfully causing financial loss to the state, misapplying public property, issuing false certificates, and dishonestly causing loss to public property.

The report added that the prosecution facts as presented by the Attorney General, Godfred Dame (AG) noted that in August 2012, the then President John Dramani Mahama, granted Executive Approval to the Ministry of Works and Housing for the construction of 5,000 affordable housing units to be known as the Saglami Affordable Housing Project.

The housing units, which was to be built by the Brazilian company Construtura OAS Ltd, was to be sold to workers through mortgage arrangements provided by the then Ghana Home Loans Company.

The AG added that the project was funded by Credit Suisse, of the United States of America, following parliamentary approval.

The AG also stated that on February 27, 2014, Dauda reviewed the agreement and signed both the original and revised versions with the construtora OAS, represented by Clacanas, without parliamentary approval.

The revision allegedly changes the scope of the works and the application of the $200 million approval by parliament, the AG added.

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