Former Deputy Attorney General, Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, has strongly questioned comments made by Attorney General Dominic Ayine regarding the decision to discontinue the Saglemi housing project case, describing the remarks as surprising and troubling.
His response follows comments made by Mr Ayine on Newsfile on Saturday, January 10, where the Attorney General characterised the Saglemi case as “poorly investigated” and said the charges were “poorly thought through.” Mr Ayine argued that there was a disconnect between the alleged financial loss and the evidence presented by prosecutors.
Speaking on Channel One TV on Sunday, January 11, Mr Tuah-Yeboah said he was astonished by the assessment, suggesting that the Attorney General had either failed to thoroughly examine the case docket or had deliberately misrepresented its contents.
“I am very surprised that the Attorney General will make such a statement, and I am inclined to believe that he has either not gone through the case docket at the Attorney-General’s Office or he has gone through it and decided to spew untruths,” he stated.
Defending the work of investigators, Mr Tuah-Yeboah insisted that the Saglemi case was the product of an extensive and meticulous probe conducted by the State Security Agency. He explained that given the technical nature of the housing project, authorities commissioned an independent professional valuation to determine the actual scope and value of work executed on the site.
He disclosed that on April 3, 2020, a formal request was made to the Ghana Institute of Surveyors to carry out an on-site assessment and establish the percentage of completion of the project. The institute’s findings, submitted on February 21, 2022, uncovered major disparities between payments made to the contractor and the actual work delivered.
According to Mr Tuah-Yeboah, although the project was intended to deliver 5,000 housing units, only 1,506 structures were found on the ground. Of these, just 666 were substantially completed, 74 remained at the foundation stage, and 778 were structurally completed but unfinished.
He further pointed to what he described as serious financial irregularities revealed by the valuation report. While the contractor had reportedly received more than $196 million in payments, the value of work executed on site was estimated at approximately $67 million. The report also indicated that an additional $32 million would be required to complete the existing 1,506 housing units.
Mr Tuah-Yeboah maintained that these findings provided a solid evidential basis for prosecution and questioned the rationale behind the decision to discontinue the case, insisting that it could not reasonably be described as weak or poorly investigated.
