SSNIT Testifies At Judgement Debt Hearing

By Esther Awuah

THE SOCIAL SECURITY and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) yesterday appeared before the Judgement Debt Commission to testify in a case involving it and the International Tobacco Ghana (ITG) Limited, CUSTOMS Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) and the Attorney General (AG).

The Commission was appointed by President John Mahama to investigate the payment of huge judgement debts paid to individuals and companies from 1992 to present.

SSNIT appeared before the commission which was hearing a case in which an amount of GH¢4,179,718 was paid as judgement debt in 2009 to ITG Limited.

The cigarette manufacturing company, ITG Limited, formerly Pioneer Tobacco Company Limited, sued CEPS, the AG and SSNIT when its properties, which belonged to the late Benjamin Amponsah Mensah, were confiscated under the erstwhile Provisional National Defence Council, (PNDC) era.

A ruling in its favour on January 21, 2004 directed that a judgement debt of GH¢4,179,718 was paid to it, and in 2009, Betty Mould-Iddrisu, the then AG, ordered the Ministry of Finance to effect the payment of the judgement debt.

However, Peter Hayibor, Head of Legal Services at SSNIT, said his outfit was not aware of the payment of the said amount to the cigarette company.

Mr. Hayibor, who was led in evidence by Dometi Kofi Sorkpor Counsel for the Commission, stated that “when our attention was drawn to that settlement, we indicated our position and requested the AG to be mindful of the rights of the third party which is SSNIT.”

He added that his outfit did not receive any response from the AG, and later heard the judgement debt had been paid to the plantiff.

He told the commission presided over by Justice Yaw Apau that ITG had sued SSNIT and the other parties after his outfit in 1989 bought some properties belonging to ITG when the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority formerly CEPS put it up for sale.

He said “CEPS issued a distress warrant in respect of properties of ITG for non-payment of excise duties and sales tax on products that ITG had sold.”

SSNIT, according to Mr Hayibor “purchased majority of the immovable items which were seized under the warrant.”

The Head of SSNIT Legal Services noted that after acquiring the assets, ITG in 1990 commenced a number of suits claiming the sale of their properties was unlawful.

Among others, he said ITG claimed damages and recovery of their properties which had been sold.

He said after the ruling was made in favour of ITG, SSNIT filed a counter claim at the High Court in Accra, a case which is still pending.

To facilitate the Commission’s investigations, Mr. Hayibor provided it with documents covering the properties SSNIT bought from CEPS.

Sitting continues on Monday June 10, 2013

CEPS Ignored In Judgement Debt Payment

By Esther Awuah

 THE CUSTOMS Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) has stated it is unaware of a judgement debt the Attorney General (AG) paid to the International Tobacco Ghana (ITG) Limited about half a decade ago.

An amount of GH¢4,179,718 was paid as judgement debt in 2009 to ITG Limited.

Larry Fiifi Yankson ,the Assistant Commissioner of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority formerly of CEPS, made the assertion when he appeared before the Judgement Debt Commission yesterday.

He stated emphatically that even though the then CEPS was party to the case involving ITG Limited, the AG and the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), his outfit was not notified when the plaintiff was paid the said amount.

The cigarette manufacturing company, ITG Limited, sued CEPS, the AG and SSNIT when its properties, which belonged to the late Benjamin Amponsah Mensah, were confiscated during the erstwhile Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) era.

Certain immovable properties belonging to the company, including its headquarters and two bungalows at Buokrom Estate in the Ashanti Region, were seized and sold by CEPS.

The company then proceeded to court where a ruling in its favour on January 21, 2004 directed that a judgement debt of GH¢4,179,718  should be paid to it.

In 2009 Betty Mould-Iddrisu, the then AG, ordered the Ministry of Finance to effect the payment of the judgement debt.

Led in evidence by Dometi Kofi Sorkpor, counsel for the Judgement Debt Commission, Mr. Yankson said “as far as this case is concerned CEPS was never served with any process on judgement debt payment.”

He explained to the commission, presided over by Justice Yaw Apau, that “when the judge made the ruling in 2004, the judgement was suspended because there was the need to go back and do evaluation and subsequently report to the court for action to be taken”.

The Assistant Commissioner further added that “unfortunately, the judge passed away and from that time to date, any payment which had been made has not been brought to the attention of CEPS.”

He, however, intimated to the commission that the same case was pending in court and that the case was expected to be heard on June 12, 2013.

Representatives from SSNIT, Registrar General’s Department and the AG will also appear before the Commission tomorrow. 

AG Sidelines Land Valuation Board

By Esther Awuah 

Justice Yaw Apau, Sole Commissioner

THE ATTORNEY General’s Department has come under scrutiny for paying an amount of GH¢27 million as judgement debt to one Nana Owusu Akyaw Prempeh II, Worakesehene without proper notification to the Land Valuation Board (LVB).

The payment was made after a Kumasi High Court on August 26, 2008 ruled in favour of Nana Prempeh who had sued the LVB and the State Housing Company (SHC) Limited for not returning a stool land given to the state for the construction of a hospital in 1943, after the project was relocated to a different site.

The land was later handed over to the SHC and part to the Ghana Police Service for the construction of a barracks for its personnel.

The court then ruled that Nana Prempeh be paid GH¢49 million, which was later reviewed and reduced to GH¢27 million by the Attorney General.

Kwesi Bentsi-Enchill the Chief Valuer from the LVB who appeared before the Commission of Enquiry investigating the payment of Judgement Debts yesterday stated that though they (LVB) had officially written to the then Minister of Lands & Forestry not to pay any compensation for the land because it was given for free to the government, the AG paid the stated amount without notifying the Board.

Led in evidence by Dometi Kofi Sorkpor counsel for the commission, the Chief Valuer told the commission presided over by Justice Yaw Apau that “the LVB after receiving a copy of a petition to the presidency, went through the administrative procedures to establish the eligibility of the claim for compensation on that land.

“We investigated on the acquisition process to determine the terms and interest, and in 2007 subsequently communicated to the Minister that the land was given free of cost to government and therefore the board did not find it necessary to put up a valuation on the presumed compensation claim.”

He indicated that the legal suit was instituted based on the board’s letter to the Ministry not to pay the compensation.

Mr. Bentsi-Enchill provided the Commission with further corresponding on the issue.

Kwame Poku Boah, Counsel for the LVB also told the commission that when they got to know of the suit, they filed the necessary processes showing every intention that they wanted to pursue the matter.

He noted that “due to my tight schedule in Accra I handed over the brief and everything to the Kumasi office of the Attorney General’s Department. I did not hear about the matter again until I heard that monies were paid to the plaintiff as compensation.”

Dr. Mark Nii Akwei Ankrah, managing director of SHC, who also appeared before the commission on the same matter, stated that since he assumed office about three years ago he has only sighted a few files on the case, but nothing to do with the payment of the said amount.

“Unfortunately, the file I have does not provide any information on the payment made to Nana Prempeh, so I will not be able to confirm whether we (SHC) are aware of the actual payment,” the MD emphasized. 

The ‘Commission of Enquiry into the payment of Judgement Debt and Akin’ under C.I. 79 was appointed by President John Dramani Mahama to investigate the payment of huge monies to individuals and companies, following a public uproar over payment of judgement debts.

Sitting continues on Tuesday May 28, 2013.

‘We Don’t Know Woyome’

By Esther Awuah

Alfred Agbesi Woyome

THE TWO construction companies involved in the rehabilitation of stadia for the CAN 2008 tournament have denied knowing Alfred Agbesi Woyome as an official of Waterville Holdings Limited. 

The Managing Directors of Consar Limited and Michelletti Company Limited, who appeared before the Commission of Enquiry investigating the payment of Judgement Debts, yesterday stated categorically that they never had any official dealings with the businessman when it came to issues with Waterville.

Mr. Woyome, the self-styled National Democratic Congress (NDC) financier was paid a whopping GH¢51.2million as judgement debt after he alleged government had abrogated a contract with Waterville, a company he claims to represent.

He is currently facing two counts of defrauding by false pretences and causing financial loss to the state.

Consar Limited’s Confession

Stefano Ramella Pezza, the Managing Director of Consar, who was the first to appear before the Commission, stated that he only dealt with Andrea Orlandi MD for Waterville and Ernesto Taricone, who were representatives of Waterville at that time, and only met Mr. Woyome causally.

“I met Mr. Woyome casually once or twice but we (Consar) had nothing to do with him because we had no dealings with him,” he emphasised.

Mr. Pezza, who was led in evidence by Dometi Kofi Sorkpor counsel for the commission which is presided over by Justice Yaw Apau, explained that his company got to know Waterville because Waterville was suppose to have financed the rehabilitation of the Kumasi Stadium but because it could not meet its obligations, government had to contract Consar to finish the project.

He indicated that “Waterville could not provide the funds for the project so government had to step in and take over the whole arrangement because the games were approaching and there was pressure to complete the project.

“So government decided to finance it on its own, and we were asked to compensate Waterville to the tune of $2.7 million for whatever it had started to do, so we can take over. We were, therefore, dealing with the agreement made by government and Waterville, which was to rehabilitate the Kumasi Stadium.”

Mr. Pezza again added that they were not supplied with equipment from Waterville for the project: “I do confirm that we were not supplied with any equipment from Waterville because we have our own equipment which we used in the construction.” 

He promised to furnish the commission with a full documentary report on the issue.

Michelletti’s Accounts

Next to appear before the commission was Jimmy Caspagna, the Managing Director of Michelletti Company Limited, who also told the commission that with regard to  Waterville, his company dealt with Mr. Orlandi but it never came to his notice that Woyome had anything to do with Waterville.

“I met Woyome on a few occasions but I never met him in any official or technical capacity while dealing with Waterville.”

Mr. Caspagna, who was the Technical Director during the rehabilitation project of the Accra and the El-Wak Stadia, explained that the relationship between Michelletti and Waterville came about because his company was nominated as subcontractors to Waterville in the original contract between Waterville and the government of Ghana.

He stated that “when Waterville’s contract was terminated, a new contract between government and Michelletti was enforced so we took over the project from day one till it was commissioned.”

He stated that Michelletti used its own equipment, adding that his company made certified payments of $950,000 to Waterville as cost for starting the project.

In an interview with Daily Guide, Mr. Sorkpor noted that the Commission, with regard to this case, wanted to establish whether Woyome had anything to do with Waterville Holdings Limited

“Woyome had mentioned certain things in respect to Waterville, and all that we wanted to know was whether Woyome had anything to do with Waterville, and they (MDs) made it very clear to us that there was no connection. So when we come to the main Woyome matter, we will deal with such issues,” he emphasised.

Also appearing before the Commission was Bruce Banoeng-Yakubo, the Chief Director of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources in relation to a case involving his Ministry, Nana Owusu Akyaw Prempeh II, Worakesehene, the Attorney General, Lands Valuation Board and the State Housing Company (SHC) Limited.

In the said case, Nana Prempeh was awarded a judgement debt of GH¢27 million, a case which was decided at the Kumasi High Court on 26 August 2008.

Nana Prempeh told the Commission on Monday May 20, 2013, that in 1943 his stool gave a land for free to the then government for the construction of a hospital in the Ashanti Region.

However, the hospital was relocated to a different site, and the project was abandoned.

But the state did not return the land to its owners, which they later found out had been handed over to the SHC and part to the Ghana Police Service for the construction of a barracks for its personnel.

Nana Prempeh continued that they then protested till the then Minister of Lands and Forestry during former President Kufour’s tenure directed the Land Valuation Board (LVB)

to pay the necessary compensation but they (LVB)  delayed, so the plaintiff decided to proceed to court to seek redress.

“Fortunately we won the case against the state and I was invited for settlement by the Attorney Generals Department with the earlier stated amount,” Nana Prempeh emphasised. 

But the Chief Director of the Ministry said they were not aware of the payment of the said amount even though they heard a judgement debt was paid to the Chief.

“Even though the Ministry was aware the case went to court, and a judgement debt awarded, as far as our records was concerned, we did not know the exact amount.” 

Irrigation Authority Blames AESL For Judgement Debt

By Esther Awuah 

The Commission of Enquiry investigating the payment of Judgement Debts yesterday heard how a huge sum of money was paid to a private company as judgment debt. 
 Kae Ghana Limited was paid an amount of ¢5, 458,700,000 (GH¢545,870) because the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority (GIDA) had insisted that it was not aware of a contract awarded the private company by Architectural & Engineering Services Limited (AESL) to undertake an irrigation project in the Northern Region.

Justice Yaw Apau, Sole Commissioner 

Led in evidence by Dometi Kofi Sorkpor counsel for the  commission, Patrick Osew-Owusu, director of GIDA representing the Chief Executive Officer of the Authority, told the commission presided over by Justice Yaw Apau that Kae Ghana Limited was given a ¢12million (GH¢1,200) contract in 1984 by AESL to rehabilitate a small-scale irrigation project in the Northern Region.

He noted that the contract had to be terminated by GIDA in 1985 because it was not in the known.

“In 1984, the regional administration and AESL a rival engineering institution was reported to have awarded a contract on one of our projects to Kae Ghana Limited without our knowledge.“We had to terminate the contract because we award our own contracts so AESL cannot award a contract without our knowledge,” Osew-Owusu indicated.

He continued that the Authority was notified about the contract through its Regional Office in the Northern Region, and three months later the contract was suspended and eventually terminated.

He added that in 1991 Kae Ghana Limited subsequently sued the Attorney General and the Ministry of Agriculture, and was awarded an initial judgement debt of ¢41million (GH¢4,100) as cost.

However, the company after realizing that it had not been fairly treated, went back to court and was awarded the ¢5, 458, 70 (GH¢545,870) in 2007.

Justice Apau then asked the witness what he made of the huge amount paid as judgement debt to which Mr. Osew-Owusu said, “I would fault the AESL because they should have been mindful of their mandate and should not have gone ahead to award the contract”.

The Commissioner said there was the need to invite AESL and Kae Ghana Limited for their side of the case.

In a related development, Nana Owusu Akyaw Prempeh II, Worakesehene appeared before the commission to assist with an ongoing investigation into the case involving him and the Attorney General, Minister of Lands & Forestry, Lands Valuation Board and the State Housing Company (SHC) Limited.

The case was decided at the Kumasi High Court on August 26, 2008, in which Nana Prempeh was awarded a judgement debt of GH¢27million.

Nana Prempeh told the Commission that “in 1943 the then government of Ghana prevailed on the state to give a land for a hospital. Unfortunately, the hospital was relocated to a different site, and the project was abandoned”.

He added that the state did not return the land to its owners, which they later found had been handed over to the SHC and part to the Ghana Police Service for the construction of a barracks for its personnel.

He continued that, “We protested against the injustice done to us through various governments, and during former President Kufuor’s tenure, the Minister for Lands and Forestry directed the Land Valuation board that it was injustice done us. Because SHC was collecting ground rent on the land which did not belong to it”.
 The then minister, he indicated, then directed the Lands Valuation Board(LVB) to pay the necessary compensation but they (LVB) was delaying, so the plaintiff decided to proceed to court to seek redress.

“Fortunately we won the case against the state and I was invited for settlement by the Attorney General’s Department with the earlier stated amount,” Nana Prempeh emphasized.  
 The ‘Commission of Enquiry into the payment of Judgement Debt and Akin’ under C.I. 79 was appointed by President John Dramani Mahama to investigate the payment of huge monies to individuals and companies, following a public uproar over payment of judgement debts.