After leaving governmentAkwasi Osei-Adjei chased rice deal to India-Witness tells court

It has come to the attention of an Accra Financial High Court, hearing the case in which two former state officials are held for roles they played in the importation of 300,000 bags of white rice from India, that the former Foreign Minister, Mr. Akwasi Osei-Adjei, went to India in connection with the rice importation in February 2009, after his the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was out of government.

A prosecution witness, Mr. Godfred Agyapong of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), yesterday told the court, presided over by Justice Bright Mensah, that Mr. Akwasi Osei-Adjei made his visit to India after the rice arrived in the country on February 18, 2009.

In his evidence-in-chief, the witness, who was part of a team that investigated the rice importation, noted that “Out Look” a newspaper in India, in its July 27, 2009 edition, captured the visit of the former foreign minister with a cover page title, “Rice Scam.”

According to the witness, Mr. Akwasi Osei-Adjei's passport, which was issued on February 11, 2009, indicated that he left the shores of Ghana on February 19, 2009 to India, and returned on February 28, the same year.

Responding further to enquiries from Mr. Anthony Gyambiby, Chief State Attorney, Mr. Agyapong indicated that the rice importation, which was commercial in nature, was procured by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the consignee being the National Investment Bank (NIB).

The witness further noted that the importer and the consignee were indicated on the Bill of Laden that accompanied the rice import.

Foreign Minister Akwasi Osei-Adjei and the former Managing Director of the National Investment Bank (NIB), Daniel Charles Gyimah, are facing criminal charges for contravening the Public Procurement Act, and in the process, causing financial loss of US$1,408,590 (GH¢1,524,952) to the state, in the various roles they played in the importation of some 15,000 metric tonnes (300,000 bags) of rice for the Government of Ghana in 2008, from India.

The accused persons, who are facing eight counts of conspiracy, contravening provisions of the Public Procurement Act, using public office for profit, stealing, and willfully causing financial loss to the state, pleaded not guilty to all the charges leveled against them, and the court admitted them to bail in the sum of GH¢200,000, with two sureties to be justified each.

Additionally, the accused persons were to deposit the title deeds of immovable properties, valued at GH¢1 million, at the court's registry, and report to the investigator at the BNI once a week, until further directions from the court.

Mr. Agyapong told the court that there had been several communications from the Ministry of Trade, which initiated the transaction, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which took over the importation deal, as well as the NIB boss, which effected the amending of the imported from the Ministry of Trade to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, after Akwasi Osei-Adjei, with the help of the then President, who aided in the lifting of the rice exportation ban placed on Ghana by the India government.

Witness also indicated that the contract signed in respect of the transaction, showed that the Foreign Ministry and the NIB were the buyers, and the State Trading Corporation of India, the seller.

The security personnel observed that in the course of investigations, the team found out that the Board of the NIB did not give any explicit approval for the transaction, adding that Mr. Gyimah, then the MD of the bank, just informed the Board that the bank was getting 15,000 metric tonnes of rice from the government.

The witness pointed out that after the contract was signed, the NIB instructed Citi Bank to sign a letter of credit in the sum of $10,260,000, after which the rice arrived in the country in February 2009, adding that no procurement process was followed, even though the rice was bought from a third party.

Mr. Agyapong indicated that when Mr. Gyimah was confronted on why procurement procedures were not followed in the rice importation, the former NIB boss noted that there was no need for the procurement process to be followed.

The witness, however, asserted that the Procurement Agency Board informed the investigation team that procurement process should have been followed, as the rice import was international.

The witness further asserted that an investigation conducted on the quantity of rice expected to arrive in the country, showed that there was a shortfall of 2,997 bags, adding that a large quantity of the rice had also gone bad, and had to be burnt.

In a cross-examination conducted by Mr. Godfred Yeboah-Dame, counsel for the former foreign minister, the witness indicated that the BNI's investigation on the rice import was based on an assessment made by the NIB on the rice, which anticipated a loss.

According to the witness, there was a waiver, but this was not approved by the Ministry of Finance, and on January 2009, the waiver was removed by an act of Parliament, stressing that after the former foreign minister concluded in getting the ban lifted on the rice exportation to Ghana, Mr. Akwasi Osei-Adjei should have gone back to the Ministry of Trade, which has the capacity to deal with private enterprises, and not to take up the deal all by himself.

It is the case of the prosecution that somewhere in February 2008, the former Minister of Trade and Industry, Joe Baidoo Ansah, initiated the importation of rice from India.

According to the State Prosecutor, a letter dated February 13, 2008 indicated that the former Trade Minister requested the Indian government, through its High Commission in Ghana, to buy 100,000 metric tonnes of (25%-35%) broken rice, with the consignee being the Ghana National Procurement Agency (GNPA).

The arrival of the rice into the country was scheduled for May 2008, “to help curb the severe increase of price of staples in Ghana.”

Mr. Gyambiby further pointed out that in another letter dated April 10, 2008, and addressed to the Minister of External Affairs of India, Mr. Joe Baidoo Ansah referred to an earlier meeting held between former President Kufuor and the Minister of Commerce of India, and drew attention to the “severe food situation looming in Ghana,” and sought to procure from the Indian Government 300,000 metric tonnes of low grade white 25% broken rice for shipment to Ghana, by June 2008.

In April 2008, Mr. Akwasi Osei Adjei took over the effort by Joe Baidoo Ansah, and nominated the NIB as the sole consignee, prosecution indicated, with Mr. Daniel Charles Gyimah, representing the NIB, and negotiated the terms of the contract with the State Trading Corporation of India, through the Ghana High Commission in India.

“The Commissioner was instructed by the 1st accused to sign the contract on behalf of the Government of Ghana, represented by first accused, the High Commissioner and 2nd accused (MD) NIB,” prosecution stated.

The state prosecution noted that on arrival of the rice, efforts by the NIB to get import tax exemption from Ministry of Finance to clear the rice were turned down, owing to the commercial nature of the contract, since the Ministry of Finance was not involved in the transaction.

The rice, according to the prosecution, has since been in the CEPS bonded warehouse, with a physical count of the consignment, revealing a shortage of 2,997 bags.

The remaining quantity of rice was in a varying state of wholesomeness, as the NIB was making efforts to sell them through the tender process, the court was told.

The state prosecution further contended that the transaction was that of a public procurement, and investigations conducted into the importation of the rice by the BNI, revealed that the provisions of the Public Procurement Act were not followed.

Additionally, the prosecution noted that the investigations also revealed that about 2,997 bags of rice short-landed were diverted for sale elsewhere, for huge private profit.