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Former MASLOC CEO jailed 10 years for causing Financial Loss
Former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MASLOC Sedina Tamakloe Attionu was yesterday sentenced to 10 years in prison with hard labour while former Chief Operating Officer of MASLOC, Daniel Axim was also jailed for five years with hard labour.
They were found guilty on 78 counts of causing financial loss to the state, stealing, conspiracy to steal, money laundering, and causing loss to public property in contravention of public procurement law.
The two have been on trial since 2019. The state called six witnesses in all while the first accused person Sedina Tamakloe was tried in absentia as she absconded after obtaining the permission of the court to seek a medical check-up outside the country.
The second accused person, however, testified in person but did not call any witnesses.
The offences for which the accused persons have been found guilty border on the appropriation of monies meant for MASLOC activities between the period of 2013 and 2016.
In one of the instances, the convicts were found to have withdrawn GHc 500,000 as a loan for Obaatampa Savings and Loans company but demanded a refund of the amount when the financial institution refused to yield a 24% percentage on the matter.
Evidence presented by the state suggested that even though there was evidence of the said refund to the convicts, the same was not reflected in the accounts and books of the complainant institution MASLOC.
The duo were also found guilty of appropriating over 1.7 million Ghana cedis meant for a sensitization exercise. According to the facts of the case, MASLOC was expected to provide 20 Ghana cedis each for 85,300 beneficiaries amounting to the 1.7m cedis.
However, only 1,300 cedis was spent for the intended purpose with the rest being misappropriated by the convicts.
Equally, only 579,800 out of 1.4 million cedis was disbursed to the victims of an inferno at Kantamanso with the two accused persons appropriating the remainder.
The case also involved the purchase of some vehicles for MASLOC where monies disbursed for the said purchase were more than the market price of the vehicles at the time and a similar situation with the purchase of some Samsung phones.
The evidence suggested that the amounts were higher than the prevailing market price at the time even though they were bought in bulk.
Source: Citinewsroom
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Traders, ‘Okada’ riders take over Circle pavement
• Korle-Bu CEO with staff of Nivaansh MediQas
Activities of traders and drug addicts are contributing to make the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange (Circle) area very uncomfortable and unsafe for commuters.
Day in and out, pedestrians are ‘ejected’ from the pavement created for their safety as traders preferred to sell their wares on that space.
That hinders the free movement of the pedestrians.
The small space left for the pedestrians are also shared with ‘Okada’ riders.
As if these woes are not enough for a commuter on a single day, they also have to navigate carefully to avoid clashes with drug addicts and the mentally challenged.
These people have turned the pavements into their places of abode, covering every inch of space with their wares.
Our photographer, Lizzy Okai, captures some of the unfriendly scenes the authorities must try and deal with to restore sanity to the area.
By Lizzy Okai
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NDC outlines demands before committing to Peace Pact
The National Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has set forth specific conditions that the party insists must be met before considering signing the Peace Pact advocated by the National Peace Council in anticipation of the December 7 elections.
Mr. Nketia expressed scepticism about the effectiveness of past Peace Pacts, highlighting that they had not achieved their intended outcomes, particularly referencing the 2020 elections, during which eight NDC members were allegedly killed by national security operatives without accountability.
During an August 20 meeting with the National Peace Council at the NDC headquarters, Mr. Nketia detailed the certain conditions for the NDC’s participation in the Peace Pact.
The NDC is demanding that the recommendations from the investigation into the violence during the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election be fully implemented.
They also want those responsible for election-related violence in the last election to be prosecuted, stressing the importance of justice and prevention.
The party is calling for accountability regarding irregularities in the printing of ballot papers and insists that visible measures be taken to prevent such issues from happening again.
They are also pushing for a thorough investigation into the missing IT equipment from the Electoral Commission’s (EC) warehouse, expressing concerns about the integrity of the EC’s systems and the potential bias of its staff.
Furthermore, the NDC is urging the President to publicly commit to respecting the results of the 2024 elections. Lastly, the party insists that the Peace Pact should be signed by key figures, including the Inspector General of Police, the Chief Justice, the Attorney-General, and the National Security Coordinator, before they will consider signing it themselves.
Source: Citinewsroom.com
