State files 127 documents in SSNIT Trial

By Joyce
Danso, GNA

Accra, Oct. 17, GNA – 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, wilfully 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.

GNA

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