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Judgement debts awarded against the state continues to persist – Centre for Social Justice

September 23, 2021

A 2021 report by the Centre for Social Justice has reviewed judgement debts payments made from public funds on behalf of the state from 2000 to 2019 and concluded that the phenomenon continues to persist.

The persistence of these judgement debts over the years, according to the report, is as a result of “negligence, blatant disregard for public procurement laws, and illegal abrogation of contracts by public officials in their line of duty.”

According to the Centre for Social Justice, these inefficiencies require immediate attention to save the public purse in future events.

“Addressing the recurring issue of judgment debts would require a combination of strategies geared towards improvement in the State’s efficiency in executing its business on behalf of the public,” it explained.

Due to a lack of a blueprint to efficiently deal with such inefficiencies, the CSJ made some recommendations based on standard practices to improve state efficiency in the execution of its business.

Credit: www.myjoyonline.com

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She made the comments when she received a delegation from the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) at her office at the Jubilee House in Accra.
The CSJ presented the Chief of Staff with a copy of a judgment debt report prepared by the Finance and Economy Pillar of the Centre.
The report which is entitled “A 20-year review of judgment debt payments in Ghana: impact, causes and remedies” catalogs the incidence of Judgment debts in Ghana from 2000 to 2019.
Present at the meeting were representatives of the CSJ, the Chief of Staff and her deputy in charge of operations, Chief Director at the Office of the Chief of Staff, Deputy AG & Minister for Justice and the Directors of Budget and Legal Departments of the Ministry of Finance.
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Dr. Sodzi-Tettey recommended a bipartisan process leading to a government judgment debt framework with specifications for how governments enter into, continue or abrogate contracts entered into by predecessor governments, with judgment debts associated with political transitions accounting for over 70% of the reviewed judgment debts.
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Madam Asonaba-Dapaah also mentioned government’s strategy to depart from the practice of using inexperienced lawyers rather than senior lawyers to contest judgment debt cases.
She lauded the decision of the President to create two deputies for the Attorney General, in charge of Civil and Criminal cases, as a clear sign of the government’s seriousness in tackling the menace of judgment debts with the Deputy in charge of Civil cases exercising strict oversight over judgment debt cases.
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com
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