As part of this case, a witness appeared to shed light on some gray areas for the Court. This is Ahmed Boly, head of the administrative and financial department at the technical inspection, at the time of the events. He admits to having heard from his first manager, in the person of Dr Marie Joseph Sanou, that he had an agreement with the general secretary of health services regarding duplicates, and that this was not a problem.
The particularity of Mr. Boly is that in addition to being a witness, it was he who brought this matter before the Court. Having worked alongside the general works inspector, he says he is aware of everything that is happening. Before his sermon, the advice of the Secretary General of the Ministry of Health, Me Minoungou, raised a concern. “Can he really take the oath, given the fact that he was the subordinate of the defendants?”
A question on which each party will opine differently; the counsel of Dr Marie Joseph Sanou, Me Fako Ouattara, considering that his testimony will be false because it is the reason why the parties are before the Court; the prosecutor and the State Judicial Agent, believing that there was no problem in him doing so.
The National Anti-Corruption Network, represented by Me Fataou Kéré, stressed that no legal provision prohibited a witness from refraining from taking the oath. And to get straight to the point, the President will end up deciding in these terms: “I believe that it is in everyone's interest that Mr. Boly takes the oath. At least we will be sure of one thing and I think that “he knows it: if his testimony is false, he could be prosecuted for perjury.”
After having complied, the witness underlines having informed the inspector general of the overlapping mission orders, but the latter informed him that he had agreed with the secretary general of the ministry of health, signatory, so that in the event of a coincidence of activities, the mission orders are nevertheless produced for the needs of the cause.
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“I noticed the overlap in mission orders as soon as I arrived at the technical inspection in 2021. I reported this dysfunction to Dr Marie-Joseph Sanou, telling him that this is not done. I noticed that every time he had to go out, he ensured that the missions followed one another at the same time” he said.
In addition, he emphasizes that his work as head of administrative and financial department has been reduced to the role of simple disburser. According to him, among other things, he was to play the role of human resources manager and internal controller of administrative and financial documents. As such, it was up to him to establish the mission orders. “But since I arrived there, it’s the inspector general himself who has been doing it,” he complained.
When asked by the president how he knew that missions were being carried out internally, he explains that upon his arrival, he set up a system allowing him to be aware of all outings. “I told all the drivers that every time there is an outing, that they bring me a copy of their mission orders beforehand, so that I know when to empty the vehicles,” he said. -he replied.
According to Me Kéré, the witness, seeing his powers limited by the first person in charge, could refuse to make payment because he had not established mission orders. “Why were you doing it then?” he asked her. “The only time I didn't do it, it cost me the gendarmerie. He said I blocked a mission. And since he had paid, he demanded that I reimburse him. I didn't want people to say that it's me who's blocking the missions,” he replied.
“It happened that Marie-Joseph took mission expenses without going there… It also happened that he was paid from several budgets, not only from that of the State, but also from that of certain partners with whom we worked… It even happened that we took state resources for UNICEF activities, or that other inspectors went to pay for fuel when that was not their role.” Mr. Boly also unpacked.
To Me Ouattara's question as to whether there was a liability between his first manager and him, he answered in the negative because he said: “it was he himself who co-opted me to Bobo for the technical inspection “There is no problem between us. You can ask him” he suggested.
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“Have you ever complained about not going on a mission?” continued Me Ouattara. “No” he replied. “But you went on a mission to Bobo with the team. Why? Was that your role?” the lawyer continued. “I went on a mission with the whole team. And yes, I did have a role to play there. I was there with a health services administrator. The missions are not predefined and there is no “It is not indicated that it is only this or that person who must go on a mission,” the witness clarified.
In turn to Me Guitanga, advisor to Wilfried Ouédraogo, former secretary general of the Ministry of Health, the latter asked him: “Have you already kept the secretary general informed of the duplications that there were within the framework of the missions of the 'general inspection?' “No, I didn’t,” the witness replied. Then the lawyer continues: “Have you ever requested reimbursement because there was a duplicate?” “No” returned the administrative and financial head. .
However, he emphasizes that a letter of explanation was requested from him for not having disbursed funds for a mission. And in this letter read by the President of the Court during the hearing, the latter expressed his concern about the non-compliance with administrative rules in the box, and emphasized that it was a way for him to challenge his first responsible and bring things back to order.
Me Minoungou, counsel for Wilfried Ouédraogo, will in turn ask if the latter had verified the information according to which there was an agreement between the inspector general and the secretary general. “No” replied the witness. “And can you, based solely on the words of Dr Marie-Joseph Sanou, who told you that there was an agreement between the two of them, deduce that the secretary general was aware of the duplicates?” insisted the lawyer. “No” replied the witness.
Asked to comment on the comments made by the witness, Mr. Boly, the defendants maintained that they were sticking to the questions already asked by their counsel.
More details to come.
Erwan Compaore
Lefaso.net
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