General News of Thursday, 27 July 2017
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
2017-07-27
Abuga Pele is accused of willfully causing financial loss to the state
Fresh evidence emerging has indicted former National Coordinator of the defunct Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship Development Agency (GYEEDA) in an unlawful payment of more than $500, 000 to a company called Goodwill International Group (GIG).
This is contrary to the witness statement by Jacob Adongo, the Deputy National Coordinator of the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) in charge of the Gender and Disability Desk. Contrary to Mr. Adongo’s claims that the then Minister for Youth and Sports Hon. Clement Humado spearheaded the corrupt, in reality the MOU between NYEP and GIG was signed a year before the minister’s assumption of office.
The witness, Jacob Adongo said that Mr Humado, who is also Member of Parliament (MP) for Anlo, was involved in almost all the processes leading to the payment of GH¢4.1 million to Goodwill International Group (GIG) when the minister only delegated the payment request to the Chief Director of the Youth and Sports Ministry who directed Abuga Pele to process payment to the state department called Management, Development and Productivity Institute (MDPI). Instead Mr. Abuga Pele caused the payment to be made by his Accountant at NYEP to a privately registered company also called MDPI – Good Will International Group. The money never went to the state MDPI.
It was Abuga Pele who approved the Payment Voucher and not the Minister. It also turned out that the deliverables that Abuga Pele claimed in his memo to the Minister to have been accomplished were in reality false. The claim by Mr. Philip Akpeena Assibit to be Managing Consultant for the Management Development and Productivity Institute (MDPI) was also found not to be true as he later changed his designation to CEO of Goodwill International Group and used this to influence the NYEP Accountant to issue the cheque in the name of MDPI-GIG in order to dupe state.
Abuga Pele is accused of willfully causing financial loss to the state to the tune of GH¢3,330,568.53, while Assibit is being tried for defrauding the state of an amount equivalent to $1,948,626.68.
Akpeena Assibit, who is also the CEO of Goodwill International Group (GIG) is being accused by the Financial and Economic Crimes Court of putting in false claims that he secured $65 million World Bank funding for the creation of one million jobs for the youth, which led government to part with GH¢4.1 million.
