FIRM TACKLES GCAA FOR JUDGEMENT DEBT

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

The Commission of Enquiry investigating the payment of judgement debts might be forced to cease hearing of a petition brought before it against the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) by a private construction firm.

Megrey Construction Ghana Limited wants the commission presided over by Justice Yaw Apau of the Court of Appeal to get the GCAA to pay them about ¢28.5 billion after putting in a claim for about 1.1 billion.

The GCAA had engaged Megrey Construction to undertake a landscaping project at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) in 2003 but they claimed that apart from about ¢393 out of the contract sum of ¢1.7 billion the authority paid them, they never received the balance.

However, when the issue was called yesterday, the GCAA officials including Joyce A. Thompson assited by Abdulai Alhassan indicated to the Sole-Commissioner that part of the case was currently in court at the directions stage and therefore made it impossible for the commission to delve those issues.

Justice Apau agreed saying “as it is now, this matter is subjudice.”

A road contractor, Prince John Baidoo, assisted by Francis Lokko all from Megery Construction were the first to testify in the mater.

Mr. Baidoo told the commission that when they were awarded the contract, they sublet the supply of black soil for the landscaping to one Paul Boateng who charged about ¢440million.

He said when the payment delayed because GCAA was not defaulting in their payment to Megrey Construction, Mr. Boateng took them (Megrey Construction) to court in 2005 and got an order to garnishee GCAA account.

He said as a result Megrey Construction also initiated a court action against GCAA in 2007 and after a back and forth legal tussle, the GCAA paid about ¢1billion to Paul Boateng but did not pay the rest of the amount to Megrey Construction.

Asked how Megrey Construction came by the ¢28 billion, Mr. Baidoo said they calculated interest of 40 percent from June 2005 till October 2013 but the Sole-Commissioner said the calculation was wrong per the documents tendered in evidence by the petitioner.

When the GCAA took their turn, Mrs Thompson who is the CGAA’s legal officer narrated a different version of events and the Sole-Commissioner appeared to concur with the GCAA.

She said the substantive case currently pending before a High court was initiated by Megrey Construction and that it was at the direction stage.

She said when the garnishee order was issued, the bankers of GCAA paid the ¢1.1billion to Paul Boateng in February 2011 without the knowledge of the authority especially at a time they had raised issues with the computation of the interest rate.

Justice Apau therefore asked both parties to return to the commission with their lawyers to explain the aspects of the matter that had been already sorted out.

Earlier, Kwadwo Awua-Peasah of the Ministry of Finance assisted by Naab Kumbuor, a lawyer at the ministry testified in the case involving B. Jamplast and the Ghana Consolidated Diamonds Limited.

Mr. Awua-Peasah said $1.8million was paid in two installments in $1million and $800,000.

He said normally they issue release letters to the Controller and Accountant General and could not tell the exact dates the claimant received the payment.

He said the officer who had handled the case was out of town and would return by the end of the month.

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 (JD).

Notable among them were payments made to CP (€94 million) and the never-ending case of GH¢51.2million parted to the self-styled National Democratic Congress (NDC) financier, Alfred Agbesi Woyome, both of which many believed were dubious and frivolous.