Judgement Debt: Attorney General Says State Actors Colluding With Claimants To Rip The State Off

• Despite the Office of the Attorney General reportedly saving Ghana from paying over GH¢10 trillion in judgement debts the danger is not over yet
• The AG's office is still inundated with more judgement debts, some claiming monies that could collapse the Ghanaian state
• According to Godfred Dame, he is convinced state actors are colluding with these claimants to rip the nation off

The Attorney-General’s office is inundated with judgement debt lawsuits, with some claiming monies that could leave the Ghanaian state penniless.

This is despite President Akufo-Addo, at the State of the Nation Address on Tuesday, February 27, 2024, stating that the Attorney General had saved the nation from paying over GH¢10 trillion in judgement debts.

However, the danger is far from over.

More judgement debt cases are pending in court demanding the state pays money for reneging on contract agreements with claimants.

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Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, in an interview with JoyNews stated that while he has managed to ensure that the payment of some judgement debt be put on hold, he is without a doubt convinced of collusion between state actors and the claimants for the deluge of judgement debts.

He noted that some public officers, through the process of neglecting the debts and allowing it to gather compound interest, have caused claimants to inflict huge debt against the government.

“So you remember the case of NDK against the Attorney General which I applied to the Supreme Court for another ruling stating that the sum of GH¢79 million paid by the government of Ghana was sufficient and therefore should be declared as full and final payment, and the government was relieved from the obligation of paying the sum of GH¢1.27billion. The sum in question was a paltry 268,000 ghana cedis, the original sum in 2009,” he said.

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Godfred Dame said the neglect of these judgement debts by state officials allow the debts to balloon, causing crippling pain to the state when the courts force the government to pay back years later.

“So the process of judgment debt for me has become a conduit for milking the state, it has become a conduit for unnecessarily inflicting financial hardship on the state and some had more or less permitted it to be an enterprise. And we saw various judgements to the Supreme Court between 2021 and 2016 reflecting such a tendency,” he said.

He said while judgement debts cannot be avoided for various reasons, the lack of vigilance and sheer complicity of state actors have exacerbated the situation leading to the rip off of the nation’s hard-earned purse.

$140 million judgment debt looming for Akufo-Addo government over cancelled power deals

A High Court in the UK has thrown out the government of Ghana's challenge of a $140 million judgment debt.

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An international firm sued the government over the termination of two power deals in 2021.

The government was arguing that it had not been served court documents appropriately in the lead-up to the judgment debt.

West Blue Ghana sues government over termination of GH¢289m contract

YEN.com.gh also reported that West Blue Ghana Limited has filed a lawsuit against the government over a cancelled contract.

The company was providing technical services to the government for the efficient clearing of cargo.

Source: YEN.com.gh