Attorney-General confirms saving GH¢10 trillion in Judgment Debt

Ghanaian

The Attorney-General, Godfred Dame, has confirmed that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's statement that the government saved the country GH¢10 trillion in judgment debt is accurate.

Mr. Dame stated that the President was modest in his claim, as court rulings and other evidence indicated that the government saved the state over GH¢14 trillion in judgment debts during

Read full articlehis tenure as A-G.

During a media interaction, the A-G presented court documents that showed various judgment debts against the state that had either been set aside by the courts or thrown out by arbitration tribunals following legal actions by his outfit.

In some cases, the courts had halted the execution of such claims pending the determination of legal actions from the A-G challenging the legality of such claims.

The A-G revealed that one of the cases was a GH¢10 trillion judgment debt (specifically GH¢10,331,841,859,411.20) by African Automobile Company Limited against the then Ministry of Employment and Manpower and the A-G.

The said judgment arose out of a contract for the provision of automobile services rendered by the African Automobile Company Ltd to the government of Ghana in 1996.

The High Court entered judgment in favour of the company as far back as in 2009, with the judgment debt around 1.12m old cedis (GH¢112) which was upheld by the Court of Appeal in 2011. However, as of 2021, that judgment debt had ballooned astronomically to GH¢10 trillion.

In the suit alleging fraud and challenging the basis of the GH¢10 trillion judgment debt, the A-G is of the contention that the High Court awarded the judgment debt of GH¢112 and rejected claims by the company that a credit facility relating to the contract included a 10 per cent compound interest upon default.

During the State of the Nation Address (SONA) last Tuesday, President Akufo-Addo praised the A-G for working efficiently and in an effective manner to save the state GH¢10 trillion in judgment debts.

The President stated that the Office had saved the country over GH¢10 trillion by contesting every civil litigation against the state and avoiding the numerous judgment debts that used to be given against the state.

The claim by the President raised many eyebrows and drew criticism, with some accusing him of exaggerating the figures.

However, the A-G said the fact that the country did not have such money in its coffers was not a basis for people not to make huge claims against it. He stressed that under his watch, the Office of the Attorney-General vigorously contests judgment debts against the state instead of the previous practice where the cases were settled, with huge financial consequences on the purse of the country.

Mr. Dame revealed that his outfit had also successfully had some major judgment debts against the state set aside, including a GH¢352.62 million and $988.29 million judgment debts by China Julin International Limited against the Ministry of Roads and Transport, which was set aside by the Supreme Court in January 2023 after the A-G challenged the capacity of the plaintiff.

Another was the NDK Financial Services' GH¢1.2 billion judgment debt claim against the government, which was thrown out by the Supreme Court in June 2021 following a legal action by the A-G.