Justice Yaw Apau
The Commission of Enquiry investigating the payment of judgement debts yesterday heard how a certain Daniel Kofi Adobor attempted to get back once vibrant Subin Timers Limited, which was confiscated by the government in the heat of the ‘revolution’ in 1982.
His bid to get back the company, even though it did not belong to him, was said to have been facilitated by the Attorney General’s (AG’s) Department.
Dometi Kofi Sorkpor, counsel for the Commission, briefed journalists at its (Commission’s) sitting in Accra yesterday after Asakkua Agambire, Executive Secretary of the Divestiture Implementation Committee (DIC) had asked for more time to enable the Committee supply documents on the aborted transaction.
According to Mr. Sorkpor, Subin Timers Limited was situated at Apowa in the Western Region with concessions in Senkyire at Fosu and in 2000 thereabout, Daniel Kofi Adobor appeared before the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) and claimed that one Kofi Adobor, who was the owner of the company, was his step father.
‘He had claimed that Kofi Adobor owned Subin Timbers and before the father passed on, he had entered into some form of partnership with an Italian called Ivor Fiorini,’ he said.
Counsel further said, ‘Daniel Kofi Adobor had claimed Ivor owned 49% shares in the company and the rest belongs to his father,’ adding, ‘He claimed the Italian took a loan facility of 35 million Deutsche Marks to purchase certain machinery for the enhancement of the company.’
According to Mr. Sorkpor, ‘Daniel Kofi Adobor’s appearance before the NRC was to impress on the commission to turn over the company to him. The AG decided to compensate this man who to all intents and purposes, wasn’t the actual owner. Even if the father was the actual owner, he was not the adopted son of the said person.’
He underscored, ‘The AG decided to compensate him with ¢5 billion but having visited the site, he decided to rather get the company de-confiscated into his name. The AG and the DIC made some attempt to do the de-confiscation for him but it did not materialize in the course of the years that followed.’
He said that the government actually took over fully and turned Subin Timers Company, together with Central Logging and Sawmilling Company, which had also been confiscated into Western Timbers.
He said, ‘The AG’s Department had a role to play because they, to some extent, assisted this gentleman – Daniel Kofi Adobor – in his bid to take over the company.’
A representative of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MoFEP) who was to produce certain documents used in transferring 10 million DM into a Swiss account for Construction Pioneers (CP), could not make an appearance.
According to Mr. Sorkpor, the ministry was also required to produce the transfers and exemplary statement of account.
By William Yaw Owusu
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