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Charles Bissue will not turn himself in despite court order for his arrest – Lawyer
The lawyer for Charles Bissue, the former Secretary of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on illegal mining, says despite the issuance of a court order for his client’s arrest, he will not be turning himself in.
Speaking on Top Story on Joy FM, the legal practitioner, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah said this is not because his client is on the run but because the arrest warrant was improperly secured.
He explained that if the court was privy to all the information including complaints of human rights abuse of Mr Bissue by the Special Prosecutor, the court order for his client’s arrest would not have been given.
“The arrest warrant would have been secured ex parte, which is without notice to Charles Bissue. So the court would have acted based solely on information the Special Prosecutor gave to it. The court made that order without being fed with the global evidence in this matter, and granted the arrest order without properly exercising its discretion not through its fault,” Mr Awuah said.
He added that “if the court was privy to certain facts including but not limited to pending suits and motions for interlocutory injunctions, it would not have granted or made an order for that arrest.”
Mr Awuah said that it is seemingly suspicious that the Special Prosecutor is in a hurry when there are about three pending suits against him.
“Why can’t he allow the processes to run their course? Is it because he has got scores to settle? There is another suit in our human rights court by Charles Bissue where he complains of warrant and breach of his fundamental human rights. When the Special Prosecutor went to secure that, warrant I am sure he didn’t disclose all these facts.”
The Lawyer stated that he and his team are also working on the way forward saying “we are going to take steps.”
This comes after the Office of the Special Prosecutor secured an order from the court to arrest the former Secretary of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM). The order follows investigations into suspected corruption and corruption-related offences relating to illegal mining.
This order was secured after Mr Bissue failed to honour an invitation by the Special Prosecutor last month.
The OSP, on May 3, wrote to Mr. Bissue informing him that he was a necessary person for the investigation into the activities of the IMCIM, and was asked to appear on May 22.
Lawyers for Mr Bissue then wrote to the OSP requesting a copy of the petition forming the basis of this invitation, and asking that the said meeting be rescheduled to May 25 due to “a domestic emergency”.
But, Mr Awuah said that the Special Prosecutor did not only refuse the proposed May 25 date but he has also refused to hand them a copy of the petitions or documents forming a basis of the invitation and the subsequent call for arrest.
“You (Special Prosecutor) proceed to say that he should rather make available copies of documentation, what documentation are you talking about? Documentations to speak to or respond to what? You never stated so. So, is it proper discretion? Is that the way you conduct an investigation?”
Meanwhile, Charles Bissue, has gone to the High Court to stop the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) from investigating him over suspected corruption and corruption-related offences involving a public officer.
According to the former Presidential staffer, an investigation cannot be launched when a copy of the petition forming the basis of the investigation has not been given to him.
In a writ sighted by JoyNews, Mr. Bissue argued that, the OSP in its half-year report dated December 31, 2022, had stated that “the Office has concluded investigation into the allegation of the use of public office for profit against Charles Bissue during his tenure as secretary to the erstwhile Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) arising from an investigative documentary titled Galamsey Fraud Part 1 published by Tiger Eye P.I and the journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas.”
Credit: Myjoyonline.com
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GEXIM deepens relations with US EXIM Bank
A management team of the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) led by the Acting Chief Executive, Sylvester Mensah met with the leadership of the Export–Import Bank of the United States (US EXIM) on Wednesday April 23, 2025 in Washington DC, United States of America.
The Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM, Mr. James C. Cruse and Vice President, International Relations, Ms. Isabel Galdiz received the GEXIM delegation, which included Deputy CEO for Banking, Mr. Moses Klu Mensah and Head of International Cooperation, Mr. Jonathan Christopher Koney at the headquarters of US EXIM.
The meeting offered the GEXIM team the opportunity to share the strategic direction of the Bank in line with the resetting agenda of the President of the Republic, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama for the repositioning of the Ghanaian economy into an export-led one by providing the requisite investment to Ghanaian businesses.
Mr. James C. Cruse expressed US EXIM’s eagerness to deepen its existing relations with GEXIM and proposed the signing of a new Cooperative Framework Agreement following the expiration of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2019 to utilize US EXIM’s medium term loan guarantees to procure machinery by GEXIM for qualified Ghanaian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
Mr.Sylvester Mensah thanked the Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM for hosting the GEXIM delegation and reaffirmed the Ghanaian government’s commitment to strengthening trade and investment between Ghana and its global partners for economic transformation of Ghana with GEXIM playing a pivotal role.
The two teams will be meeting on the sidelines of the 2025 US EXIM Annual Conference on 29th and April 30, 2025 to explore possible areas of collaboration and matching Ghanaian businesses to American companies. The meeting ended with an exchange of gifts.
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Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation –Pres.Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama has expressed concern over the misuse of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) for personal financial gain by individuals in leadership positions.
Speaking during a meeting with Chief Executives of specified entities under the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA) on Thursday, March 13, the President directly attributed the dire state of SOEs to their leadership, accusing chief executives, management teams, and governing boards of prioritising personal enrichment over organisational efficiency.
He pointed to bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures as factors draining public funds while SOEs continue to rely on government bailouts.
“Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation by appointees. The chief executives, management, and boards of these enterprises are responsible for this situation. Some SOEs have become perennial loss-makers, draining public funds with bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures while relying on government bailouts as if entitled to them. Many of these entities are at their lowest point in the entire history of the Fourth Republic,” he said.
President Mahama further noted that many SOEs have been plagued by inefficiencies, corruption, and mismanagement, leading to consistent financial losses. He cited the 2023 State Ownership Report by the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA), which highlighted systemic inefficiencies and wasteful expenditures within these entities.
He therefore reaffirmed his commitment to reforming under-performing SOEs and ensuring they serve national interests.
He warned that loss-making SOEs will no longer be tolerated and will either be merged, privatised, or closed.
“I will assess you based on your performance. If you do not align with the pace of the reset agenda, you may be asked to step aside. If that adds to the horror movie, so be it,” he added.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
