General News of Thursday, 18 November 2004

Source: THE INDEPENDENT

Mumuni Cited In ?2.216 bn Deal

The running mate of Professor Atta Mills and former Minister for Employment and Social Welfare, Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni, is to be held jointly and severally responsible alongside others ?for an amount of ?2.216 billion fraudulently paid out of an amount of ?5 billion released to the National Vocational and Training Institute (NVTI) during his tenure as Minister.?

The matter involves payments to the NVTI from Government vaults that are suspected to have been used for purposes other than the purposes for which they were sought and released.

A draft forensic audit report on NVTI dated March 2004 says as part of the findings that ?Between April 2000 and September 2000, a total of ?13 billion was released to NVTI outside their budgetary allocation from the Ministry of Finance at the request of the Minister for Employment and Social Welfare, Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni. Out of this amount, ?5 billion was paid into NVTI bank account at the Bank of Ghana. The balance of ?8 billion was fraudulently transferred into a secret account operated by Dr Michael Yaw Boateng, the interdicted Director of NVTI, and Emmanuel Jack Animi, Former Chief Accountant at the Bank of Ghana?.

According to the draft forensic report on the NVTI, the basis of the recommendation on Alhaji Mumuni is that he failed ?? to comply with financial administration regulations on budgetary control procedures and ensure that the ?5 billion released at his request was properly disbursed for the purpose for which it was intended?.