Judgement Debt C'ssioner Blasts Police

Esther Awuah 

THE SOLE Commissioner investigating the frivolous payment of huge judgement debts and compensations to individuals and companies, yesterday, condemned the Ghana Police Service for its negligence, which led to the payment of money to a certain individual.

According to Justice Yaw Apau, it was such laxities on the part of public officers which had forced the state to cough up several cedis as judgement debt to undeserving individuals and organisations.

The Police Service in 2006 auctioned an Opel Cadet taxi with registration number GW 3457 R which had been involved in an accident and parked for several days at the Nsawam Police station in the Eastern Region.

The owner of the said vehicle, one Samuel Adjei, sued the Police Service for unlawfully selling his car for GH¢20, even though the police administration had made several calls on him to tow the car from the station.

Mr. Adjei, who petitioned the Attorney General (AG) over the sale of his car, won the case and was awarded a judgement debt of GH¢4,500 on September 25, 2006.

But according to the Sole Commissioner, the payment of the money could have been avoided, if the Police had presented the real facts of the case to the AG.

Mr. Adjei had clandestinely come to remove the engine and number plate of his wrecked vehicle at the police station, despite being confronted by one General Sergeant Erasmus Yaw Afeyi.

Justice Apau indicated that “the report from the Nsawam Police to the AG at that time was that the man came to remove the engine and number plate of the car, and took them away without the knowledge of the police. There was no indication that one police officer confronted him.

“In fact, if they had informed the AG that a police man caught him, then they would have made a case out of that. You see, it is because of this laxity that the state was made to cough up the GH¢ 4,500.”

Anthony Kokoroko a Legal Officer at the Ghana Police Service, who represented the Inspector General of Police (IGP) at the Judgement Debt hearing, was led in evidence by Dometi Kofi Sorkpor, counsel for the Commission.

Mr. Kokoroko in defence also explained that the vehicle was auctioned in line with the “Police service disposal of property regulations 1971 LI 704, which regulates the manner in which the police should dispose of properties which have come into its custody of which the owner of the property cannot be ascertained.”

He further indicated that in the case of the vehicle in question, it was a total wreck and several calls to the owner to come for the vehicle proved futile.

When asked by counsel for the commission if he was aware that the AG had stated that it could not sustain any credible defence in the case, Mr. Kokoroko said, “Actually I have not come across such comment, but if that was their position I think it was quiet unfortunate.

“In the sense that at least they should have filed a defence and then contest the case to see the outcome.”

But Justice Apau insisted that “if the right information had been forthcoming this money would not have been paid in the first place. It is just like robbery.”

In a related development Mr. Kokoroko had to also explain why one Lance Corporal Baba Bukari, a former police officer, was paid a judgement debt of GH¢12,000 after he was dismissed from the service.

He explained that Baba Bukari who was enlisted in the police service on June 1, 1986, was posted to several stations including the Berekum District Police Headquarters where he was attached to Sekwa Police Station in the Brong Ahafo Region.

He noted that the said officer complained of accommodation problems which he petitioned the IGP over.

“Baba however ceased to report to work stating that until he receives a response from the IGP about his accommodation problems he would not report to work,” Mr. Kokoroko indicated.

On that basis he was charged with “absenting himself from duty without reasonable excuse.”

The charge was appropriately communicated to him and he was given an opportunity to be heard.

But according to Mr. Kokoroko, Baba wrote back stating that he had petitioned the IGP and, therefore, would not attend the trial.

He added that “under the circumstances, Baba was therefore tried in absentia and dismissed. After his dismissal, he went to court claiming that certain procedures as far as the service enquiry into his case was concerned, were not properly followed, and the court granted him his request [and] paid a judgement debt of GH¢12,000.”

He noted that “when the case went to court, the Police service was not present to defend the decision, hence the award of the judgement debt.”

Sitting has been adjourned to July 22, 2013.

Sports Ministry ‘Hot’ Over Ballooned Judgement Debt

By Esther Awuah

Elvis Afriyie Ankrah – Minister for Youth and Sports

A CHIEF Director at the Ministry of Youth and Sports was yesterday queried at the Judgment Debt hearing, over the payment of a debt to a construction company.

It was gathered by the commission that the debt paid to M/SEP Ghana Limited had increased to over 30 times the original amount in barely a decade.

The debt, which was incurred by the Ministry after it contracted M/SEP to rehabilitate a tennis court at the Accra Sports Stadium in the year 2000, was initially GH¢5,053.20 but increased to GH¢177,664.09 in 2010.

Abdulai Yakubu, chief director at the Ministry of Youth and Sports, attributed the development to the Ministry’s inability to raise the GH¢5,053.20 at that time.

 “The Ministry did not have money to settle the contractor at that time,” he emphasised.

He was subpoenaed to appear before the Judgement Debt Commission to assist it establish why the Ministry paid the said amount to the construction company.

Mr Yakubu, who was led in evidence by Dometi Kofi Sorkpor counsel for the Commission, explained that his Ministry on January 7, 2000 awarded the said contract to M/SEP after Ghana was chosen to host the Euro Africa Zone 2 tennis competition.

He noted that “the project which was in the sum of GH¢69,718.08, was pre-financed by the company and completed within six weeks of receiving the contract.

“The contractor was not paid immediately after executing the contract because there was some documentation, which needed to be sorted out. Thus the contractor was paid in three instalments.”

The first instalment, which was paid on October 22, 2001 was GH¢24,339.53. The subsequent amounts, GH¢33,826.29 and GH¢9,486.75, were paid on November 6, 2001 and December 31, 2001 respectively.

Mr Yakubu further stated that a remainder of GH¢5,053.20, was also not immediately paid, prompting M/SEP to serve the Attorney General (AG) with the intention to sue the Ministry for GH¢227,664.09.

The AG and representatives of the Ministry then held three meetings upon which it was “agreed that the company should be paid GH¢177,664.09, an amount the company accepted in 2010 upon negotiation.”

Sole Commissioner Justice Yaw Apau, surprised at the Ministry’s inability to settle the earlier debt, remarked, “So between 2001 and 2010 the Ministry could not get GH¢5,053.20 to pay the contractor? And government had to later cough up GH¢177,664.09. Don’t you find it……I don’t even know how to explain it.”

When asked whether the project was budgeted for, Mr. Yakubu replied in the negative, explaining that “Ghana had the opportunity to host the Africa Zone two tournament so we thought it was a very bright opportunity to advance to the Zone one where we shall also be having certain benefits. Due to the deadline given, the Ministry had to quickly take that opportunity to prepare, so we did not budget for the project.

Once the project was not budgeted for, it was difficult to source funds from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MOFEP) for payment to be effected, hence the delay.”

In another development, Mr Yakubu upon request from the Commission, provided supporting documents regarding payments that had been made to certain individuals.

He explained that the Controller and Accountant General in 2011 had mistakenly credited the account of the Ministry with GH¢38,119,023.95 and GH¢10,584,295 being payments to Waterville and Alfred Abgesi Woyome respectively.

He said, “We only got to know about it when we were doing our monthly reconciliations, and alerted the Controller and Accountant Genera’s Department who later debited the Ministry’s account immediately.”

Next to appear before the Commission was Major (Rtd) Samuel Mahama Tara, Chief Director of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MOFEP), who was also subpoenaed to produce supporting documents on compensation payments relating to the following persons: Abdul Muzizz, Davis Kakra Mensah, Davis Panyin Mensah and Philip Agbodoga.

He stated that an amount of GH¢47,230 was released to MOFEP to enable it to pay these persons, out of which an amount of GH¢7,630 was paid to Mr. Agbodoga as compensation, after he was wrongfully accused of robbery.

He noted further that he received a directive from the AG’s department to pay the remaining GH¢39,600 belonging to the other three persons through their counsel Kulendi & Co.

“There was a letter from the AG’s Department authorising the payments that were to be made to the claimants through their legal counsel, Kulendi & Co., which we did. The vouchers were prepared in the name of the beneficiaries as instructed and the payment was duly effected through their legal counsel,” Major Tara emphasised.

Sitting has been adjourned to July 24, 2013.

Missing File At A-G’s Dept

By Esther Awuah 

Alfreda Dankyi (right), with her colleague at the Judgement Debt Hearing 

A SENIOR State Attorney at the Attorney-General’s (A-G’s) Department Alfreda Dankyi, yesterday failed to furnish the Judgement Debt Commission with documents covering the payment of $159,149 to a law firm Messers Dewey and Leboeuf for services it rendered to government in 2008.

Mrs. Dankyi told the Commission headed by Sole Commissioner Justice Yaw Apau that her inability to provide the right documents stemmed from the fact that the main file containing the agreement and payments made to the law firm could not be located.

She emphasised that: “Unfortunately, the Chief State Attorney who was handling the file at the time, is on retirement and she is out of the country at the moment. We are still trying to contact her, and at the same time we are also making further searches at our registry to locate the main file which will give us more information on the matter.”

The Solicitor-General was subpoenaed by the Judgement Debt Commission to produce documents on payments made to Messrs Dewey and LeBoeuf who had rendered legal services to government on maritime boundary issues.

The legal firm was thus paid the sum of $159,149 on March 11, 2010, but documents covering the payment cannot be located by the AG’s Department.

DAILY GUIDE’S checks with the Judgement Debt Commission revealed that the exact maritime boundary issue the law firm dealt with is not known.

Mrs. Dankyi who was representing the Solicitor-General was led in evidence by Dometi Kofi Sorkpor counsel for the Judgement Debt Commission.

She was however able to produce documents on the agreement between the Ministry of Justice and Attorney Generals Department and Messrs Dewey and LeBoeuf.

She also tended 11 invoices from Messrs Dewey and LeBoeuf, and an unsigned letter from the AG’s Department to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MOFEP) authorizing the payments.

She indicated that “I have instructions from the Solicitor-General to let the Commission know that the letter ordering the payment was not signed and that the Solicitor-General is still trying to retrieve the main file from its registry.”

Justice Apau then asked Mrs. Dankyi to make efforts to locate the other documents and furnish the commission with them.

The Inspector General of Police (IGP) was also expected to appear before the Commission but according to the Sole Commissioner, he (IGP) did not receive the invitation to appear.

The IGP would therefore be summoned to appear on Wednesday, July 24 2013.

The ‘Commission of Enquiry into the payment of Judgement Debt and Akin’ under C.I. 79 to investigate the frivolous and dubious payments of huge monies to undeserving individuals and companies, was appointed by President John Dramani Mahama after public uproar over the payments in what has now come to be termed as Judgement Debts.

Notable among them is the never-ending case of GH¢51.2million parted to the self-styled National Democratic Congress (NDC) financier, Alfred Agbesi Woyome, which many believed was dubious and frivolous.