The Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr. Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, has mounted a robust defence of former Minister for Works and Housing, Al
The Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr. Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, has mounted a robust defence of former Minister for Works and Housing, Alhaji Collins Dauda, following the state’s controversial decision to discontinue the long-running Saglemi Affordable Housing Project prosecution.
The decision, which effectively set Collins Dauda and three other accused persons free, has reignited public debate about accountability, prosecutorial diligence, and the handling of high-profile corruption cases inherited from previous administrations.
Speaking on Joy News’ Newsfile programme, Dr. Ayine explained that the Saglemi case was fundamentally defective from the outset, arguing that it was poorly investigated and legally unsustainable.
Drawing on his unique perspective as a former defence lawyer for some of the accused before assuming office as Attorney-General, Dr. Ayine said a careful professional review of the docket revealed fatal gaps between the charges preferred and the evidence available to support them.
According to the Attorney-General, the most serious charge—that Collins Dauda wilfully caused a financial loss of US$200 million to the state—was not only exaggerated but impossible to prove on the facts.
He disclosed that by the time Collins Dauda exited office as Works and Housing Minister, total expenditure on the Saglemi project stood at about US$94 million, not the full contract sum of US$200 million being cited by prosecutors.
In Dr. Ayine’s assessment, the prosecution failed to demonstrate how the former minister’s actions could be directly linked to the entire alleged loss, a requirement under Ghanaian criminal law for sustaining such charges.
Dr. Ayine stressed that his decision to enter a nolle prosequi—a formal notice of discontinuance—was not influenced by political pressure or executive instruction, but rather by an objective professional assessment of cases inherited from the previous government.
He noted that his transition from defence counsel to the state’s chief prosecutor gave him rare “insider knowledge” of the strengths and weaknesses of the Saglemi case, insisting that continuing with a flawed prosecution would amount to an abuse of prosecutorial discretion.
The discontinuation formally took place at the High Court in Accra, where a notice of nolle prosequi was filed on behalf of the Attorney-General by Principal State Attorney Hilda Craig before Justice Dr. Ernest Owusu-Dapaa, a Court of Appeal judge sitting as an additional High Court judge.
The move brought to an end the criminal trial of Collins Dauda, Dr. Kwaku Agyeman-Mensah (a former Minister of Works and Housing), Nouvi Tettey Angelo (former CEO and owner of Ridge Management Solutions Ghana Limited), and Ziblim Yakubu (former Chief Director at the Ministry of Works and Housing).
The Saglemi Housing Project, conceived as a 5,000-unit affordable housing initiative, was financed through a US$200 million loan secured from Credit Suisse International in 2013.
The loan agreement was signed by the then Minister for Finance, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, with the project structured under an Escrow Management Agreement (EMA).
Under this arrangement, the Ministry of Works and Housing served as the developer and account holder, Construtora OAS was the contractor, and the Bank of Ghana acted as the account bank.
At trial, the prosecution under the previous administration had called two witnesses before the case was halted.
The first, Reverend Stephen Yaw Osei, Chief Director at the Ministry of Works and Housing, testified that Architectural & Engineering Services Limited (AESL), the project’s consultants, failed to ensure value for money.
He further stated that approximately US$80 million had already been spent on the project before Collins Dauda and Dr. Agyeman-Mensah assumed office, and that Collins Dauda did not issue any interim payment certificates during his tenure.
The second prosecution witness, Eric Amankwah, a Senior Economics Officer at the Treasury and Debt Management Division of the Ministry of Finance, detailed the financing and payment structure of the project.
He explained that AESL was responsible for certifying milestone reports and verifying payments to the contractor.
However, AESL allegedly failed to ensure that mandatory deductions—estimated at US$80 million or 40 percent of the contract sum—from advance mobilisation payments were effected.
Multiple consultants, including AESL, VHM, and Ridge Management Solutions, were engaged between 2013 and 2015, with payments processed between 2013 and 2017.
Despite these testimonies, Dr. Ayine argued that the evidence presented did not establish criminal intent or direct causation of financial loss on the part of Collins Dauda.
He maintained that administrative lapses, consultant failures, or systemic weaknesses in project supervision could not automatically be translated into criminal liability without clear proof of wilful misconduct.
Originally, the accused persons faced 70 counts, including wilfully causing financial loss to the state, issuing false certificates contrary to the Government Contracts (Protection) Act, dishonestly causing loss to public property under the Public Protection Act, and intentional misapplication of public property.
Another accused person, Andrew Clocanas, then Executive Chairman of Construtora OAS Ghana Limited, died while the case was pending.
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