State files 127 documents in SSNIT trial

The State, on Wednesday, said it has filed 127 documents and a pen drive containing additional documents in a matter involving Ernest Thompson, former Director-General of Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) and four others.

Mrs Yvonne Attakora-Obuobisa, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), told an Accra High Court that the documents were filed as far back as September 24, this year.

The DPP, however, said she could not tell if all the five accused persons in the matter had been served with those documents.

The accused persons, through their respective lawyers, informed the court that they have not been served.

Defence counsels held that if the State, with all machinery at their disposal, took three months to file the documents then it was appropriate for the court to accord the accused persons with an equal opportunity and adequate time to prepare for their defence.

The DPP objected to the three-month period suggested by defence counsels saying they should be given six weeks to go through the documents and prepare for their defence.

The court presided over by Mr Justice Henry Anthony Kwofie, gave the defence team eight weeks to go through the documents and prepare for their defence.

The matter was, therefore, adjourned to December 14.

Meanwhile, the court has slated November 2, this year, to hear a motion filed by Caleb Kwaku Afaglo, former Manager of Management Information System at SSNIT.

Thompson is standing trial with John Hagan Mensah, an Information Technology (IT) Infrastructure Manager of SSNIT and later Operational Business Suit Project Manager, and Juliet Hassana Kramer, Chief Executive Officer of Perfect Business Systems and Silver Lake Structured Service Limited.

The rest are Caleb Kwaku Afaglo, former Manager of Management Information System at SSNIT, and Peter Hayibor, a General Manager / General Counsel for SSNIT.

Thompson and four others have jointly been charged with 29 counts of conspiracy, willfully causing financial loss to the state and contravention of the Public Procurement Act.

They were said to have caused a loss of over 72 million dollars in Operating Business Suite Contract, which sought to provide state-of-the- art pension administration systems.

Afaglo has been additionally charged with defrauding by false pretences, possession of forged documents and altering of forged documents.

The matter follows investigations into the awarding of the controversial 72 million dollars Operating Business Suite contract for the development of a software to help SSNIT in its dealings with the pensioners.

The amount involved in the contract was initially 34 million dollars but it was later inflated.