The Member of Parliament for Ajumako Enyan Essiam Constituency and Former Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has stated that his prosecution for causing financial loss to the state in relation to the procurement of 200 ambulances for the Ghana Health Service under the erstwhile Mahama administration is driven by hate and prejudice.
Reacting to a press release on Wednesday, January 5 signed by Deputy Attorney General Diana Asonaba Dapaah, Dr. Ato Forson stated that “I have noted a statement issued by a Deputy Attorney General claiming that by speaking out against the malice and deliberate political persecution inherent in the decision to prosecute me, I am exposing the Attorney General to “hate” and “prejudice”.
The reaction which was contained in a post on his official Facebook page, the former deputy minister of finance and the ranking member on the Finance Committee of Parliament stated that the Attorney General’s office cannot determine his reaction to the sinister plot to tarnish his reputation.
“I wish to state that the Attorney General’s office cannot determine my reaction to the sinister plot to needlessly tarnish my reputation and rob me of my liberty simply because I remain implacably opposed to the poor economic policies of this government and in particular the E-Levy”.
“It is the Attorney General who is driven by hate, prejudice, and demagoguery! He is the one abusing his prosecutorial powers to silence critical political opponents”. He added.
He further indicated that “For instance, on Paragraph 7 of the AG’s statement issued yesterday, it was claimed that;
“As stated in the facts of the case filed in court on 22nd December 2011, cabinet endorsed an executive approval of a joint memorandum submitted to cabinet by the then Minister for Health and the first accused Cassiel Ato Forson, then Deputy Minister for Finance, for the purchase of 200 ambulances out of a medium-term credit facility of €15,800,000 between Stanbic Bank Ghana Limited and the Government of Ghana through the Ministry of Finance.”
“For the avoidance of doubt, the Cabinet memo for the purchase of the Ambulances was submitted in December 2011. I became a Deputy minister on the 2nd of May 2013. How could I have signed a cabinet MEMO in December 2011?
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