Former Deputy Attorney General of Ghana, Joseph Kpemka, has described the infractions that led to the jailing of the former boss of the Microfinance and Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Tamakloe Attionu, as stated in the court documents, as ‘nauseating.’
In a landmark case that gripped the nation, Sedina Tamakloe Attionu, the former CEO of MASLOC has been sentenced to a decade behind bars, after she was found guilty for violating a series of financial infractions.
The case, which Kpemka described as “not just stealing, but naked thieving,” involved the misappropriation of funds meant for nationwide sensitization workshops.
He further gave instances of misuse of funds, including the embezzlement of funds meant for victims of a market fire disaster and gross overpricing of items in procurement.
‘They were supposed to do some nationwide sensitization workshops for some category of people concerning matters like this. The money was about GHS2 million. Less than 5% was used for the intended purpose. The rest was
shared as if it were groundnuts.
‘There was a fire disaster in one of the markets. Some money was allocated to help the victims. Just a small percentage of it was used. The rest, they shared it. There were some phones they had to buy. One on the market is GHS100. The prices they quoted were GHS400 each.
‘Some vehicles were procured. Those vehicles even delayed the trial because we had finished all the charges. And then we bumped into a report that indicated that vehicles had been bought. Some of them were thrice the market price. We had to amend our charges to include all these. And remember that they were found guilty of over 70 charges,’ he stated.
Kpemka gave a stern warning to any individual involved in the mismanagement of funds, stating, ‘You have to be very, very careful. The day of accountability will come. And when it comes, you will be in that dock alone. And the wheels of justice may grind slowly, but in the end, when the pronouncement is made and you are taken away to Nsawam, you will realize t
hat acts of impunity cannot go unpunished and go forever.’
Source: Ghana Web
