Ministry of Agric watchman fined GHC960 for destroying air conditioners

Yakubu in handcuffs after his conviction[/caption] A security man who destroyed four air-conditioners belonging to the State for non-payment of his salaries by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture  has been fined GH¢960 or in default, spend four months in jail. Mustapha Yakubu who works with Animal Production Unit of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) committed the crime over non-payment of his salaries by ministry for the past seven months. Though he denied the charge of causing unlawful damage, the Accra District Court presided over by Ms Aret Nsemoah found him guilty at the end of the trial. Sergeant Joyce Ofori, who led the Prosecution said on November 23, this year, Yakubu, who is a night watchman on duty at MOFA destroyed the four air conditions. The Prosecution said Madam Veronica, a witness and a cleaner of MOFA, saw one of the air-conditioners fell off from one of the rooms and reported the incident to her superiors. When Yakubu was questioned he admitted the offence of destroying the air conditioners after several assistance from his superiors including the accountant of the unit to get his salary failed. According to Yakubu, he has also paid several visits to the Ghana Commercial Bank branch at the Ministries over his salary but to no avail. Yakubu said even though he took part in the biometric registration, conducted by Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) of which after the exercise, he was also asked to go to the SSNIT office, which he did. “I was given a form at SSNIT which I took to the accountant of MOFA to work on it. I however did not have access to my salary arrears,” accused told the court. Prosecution said he admitted before two staff of the Ministry that he destroyed the air-conditioners because he had not been paid for the past seven months. Source GNA]]>