Robert Jackson, US Ambassador to Ghana
The US Ambassador to Ghana, Robert Jackson has questioned the lack of action on the prosecution of persons indicted in the Tema Central Medical Stores Fire Outbreak.
He said the matter cannot be laid to rest because the warehouse had about 7 USD million of commodities donated by the American people.
The Tema Central Medical Stores was razed down by fire two years ago in a possible case of arson, investigations said.
Speaking at a Ghana Integrity Initiative(GII) Consortium launch of a Survey report on Citizens Knowledge, Perception and Experiences of Corruption yesterday – the US Ambassador to Ghana, Robert Jackson said the Attorney General(AG) must be to answer questions on the state of prosecution in the matter.
“Still waiting for justice in the 2015 Tema Medical Stores arson case. People were indicted and there is no prosecution. Let me remind all of you that in that Tema Central Medical Stores warehouse, was more than USD 80 million. So there was supposed to be more than USD 80 million dollars of commodities and that include USD 7 million dollars of commodities donated by the American people.” he said.
The nation is yet know what the Attorney-General is doing about the investigative report which identified 12 people as the culprits, and recommended them for prosecution after two years of the incident.
After the National Security had presented an investigative report on the alleged arson, which occurred on January 13, 2015, the Mahama government “directed the Police Criminal Investigations Department (CID), working in collaboration with the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), to prepare appropriate dockets with respect to each named individual, their collaborators and accomplices as well as other suspects named and unnamed in the report with the view to their prosecution at the instance of the Attorney-General.”
Information available to the Daily Statesman indicates that many of the affected 12 have even been re-assigned to “positions of higher responsibilities and honour” (more on this later).
The 12 were identified as Peter Ekow Gyimah, Former Head of CMS, Alhaji Yusif Inua, Member of the Interim Management Committee, Iddrisu Abdul Karim, Acting Head of CMS, Esi Makankatha, Principal Pharmacist/Warehouse Mangaer and Zeboat Doh, Warehouse Manager.
The rest were Ibrahim Laryeh Amartey, Line Warehouse Manager/General Pharmaceuticals Unit, Kwami Foli, Warehouse Manager, Mathias Senaya, Warehouse Manager/General Pharmaceuticals, Victoria Anning, Senior Supply Officer/Stores, James Benjamin Annan, Pharmacist/systems Analyst and Peter Ataba Addah, Store keeper.
The alleged arsonist was identified as Samuel Dogbe, a labourer at the Stores, who was said to have been hired by his superiors to carry out the attack, aimed at destroying evidence of malfeasance they were embroiled in.
