Koku Anyidoho, Former Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress
A former Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Koku Anyidoho, has raised issues with the payment of judgement debts in Ghana.
He wondered how long the country will continue “to bleed from self-inflicted wounds.”
Speaking on Okay Fm’s “Ade Akye Abia” programme, the one-time Communications Director at the Presidency during the late Professor Atta Mills’ tenure, lamented how the former president was bequeathed with some of these judgement debts as legacies which could have been easily avoided.
“So, Judgement debt has reared its ugly Medusa-like head in Ghana again? I sat in Cabinet & saw the extent to which Prez Atta-Mills Laboured to pay Judgement debts he inherited. For how long will the Motherland continue to bleed from self-inflicted wounds? I weep for Ghana,” he added.
GPGC Saga
The Commercial Court in London, reportedly refused to allow Ghana to bring a belated challenge to a UNCITRAL award worth over US$134 million in favour of a power contractor, ruling that national elections and Coronavirus pandemic, did not make the state’s delay reasonable.
The case started under Gloria Afua Akuffo, then Minister of Justice and Attorney General, with Godfred Yeboah Dame as one of her Deputies.
State attorneys, including Helen Akpene Awo Ziwu, Anna Pearl Akiwumi Siriboe and Grace Oppong Dolphy in Accra, were also mentioned in the case as having failed to beat a 28-day deadline.
The delay resulted in the State having to pay $170 million in damages to the claimants; Ghana Power Generation Company (GPGC) located at 1 Airport Square Building, 7th Floor, Accra.
AG Bares Teeth
Meanwhile, Godfred Yeboah Dame, Ghana’s Attorney General (AG), says the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Police Service, will investigate the Power Purchasing Agreement signed between the government and GPGC, which has exposed the nation to such a huge financial loss.
He said the agreement was unnecessary and ill-informed because the country did not need excess power at the time and that an inquiry would be instituted into the matter to protect the public purse.
The AG said the agreement contained clauses, which rendered the government liable for payment of huge sums of money, saying, “irrespective of whether it was terminated before it became effective or not, the government was exposed to financial loss.”