General News of Saturday, 22 June 2013

Source: joyonline

Minority demands prosecution of officials indicted in Isofoton scandal

The Minority in Parliament is demanding the prosecution of all government officials involved in paying the Isofoton judgment debt.

The prosecution they claim is to serve as a deterrent to other public officials.

Isofoton has been ordered by the Supreme Court to pay back to government almost 400,000 dollars judgment debt it received in 2011.

All nine justices of the Supreme Court believed Isofoton’s contract with the government was null and void because it was not approved by Parliament.

Minority Spokesperson on Legal and constitutional Affairs, Joe Osei Owusu, said any single person involved in the matter must be made to face the law.

“Anybody whose act or omission led to the country losing that sums of money should be punished in accordance with the laws of the country.

“Everybody, whether it is a clerk, a cleaner, or the Attorney General herself or her deputies or state attorneys whose role led to the loss of monies to the state must be punished.

“When you have all the facts, and it’s obvious that any lawyer should not give that advice that you do, then you may have been induced by certain other considerations and that is where I call for punishment,” he said.

But Isofoton believes the Supreme Court judgement was perverse.

Its official, Anane Agyei, told Joy News government still owes the company in excess of three million dollars, which has to be paid.