The Court of Appeal set aside the findings of Sole Commissioner Justice Yaw Apau, citing a breach of the principles of natural justice.

[contextly_sidebar id=”H5uqoHZtRBVoWzzJ9ZP8TvmICuvPtlzH”]According to the court, the Commissioner failed to give Mr. Woyome a fair hearing since it moved beyond examining records of payment of the Judgement debt to assess circumstances leading to the payment.

Mr. Woyome was paid GHc 51 million after he claimed that he helped Ghana to raise funds to construct stadia for purposes of hosting the 2008 African Cup of Nations.

The court’s judgment follows a suit filed by Alfred Woyome in June 2016 where he argued that the Sole Commissioner, Justice Yaw Apau, erred in fact and law in reaching his conclusions about him.

The Sole Commission, headed by Justice Yaw Apau, was set up by former President John Mahama in October 2012 to look into the payment of all judgement debts since 1992, following the various judgement debt scandals that rocked the country.

The Commission submitted its findings to the government in May 2015, and highlighted some breaches in due process in governance systems that led to financial loss to the state.

Among its initial findings included its description as fraudulent monies paid to businessman Alfred Woyome.

Background to Woyome saga

Mr. Woyome had sued the state for a breach of contract relating to the construction of stadia for the 2008 tournament and was awarded the default judgement because the state did not put in a defence.

However, an Auditor General’s report released in 2010 said the amount was paid illegally to Mr.Woyome, who is a known National Democratic Congress financier.

He was subsequently arrested on February 3, 2011 after the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), which was commissioned by the late President John Atta Mills to investigate the matter, had cited him for wrongdoing.

Mr.Woyome was initially charged with conspiracy, defrauding by false pretence and corrupting a public officer.

He was later re-arraigned and charged with two counts of causing financial loss to the state and defrauding by false pretence.

The interim report of EOCO, which was presented to the President on February 2, 2012, also indicted  Yaw Osafo Maafo, the then-Minister of Education, Youth and Sports and his deputy, Mr. O. B. Amoah.

But Mr Osafo-Maafo secured a court order which declared that EOCO’s investigation of him as illegal.

On June 5, 2012 Mr.Woyome was discharged but re-arrested and charged with two counts of causing financial loss and defrauding by false pretence.

The case unravelled until March 12, 2015, where the Fast Track High Court trying Mr. Woyome, again discharged him.

Delivering his judgment, Justice John Ajet-Nasam, said the State woefully failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Mr. Woyome was guilty.

Justice Ajet-Nasam also said there were no contradictions to the documentation evidence on the agreement for compensation claimed by the accused person.

But in 2014, the Supreme Court ordered Mr. Woyome to pay back the amount, after former Attorney General and now Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu challenged the legality of the judgment debt paid the businessman.

Following delays in retrieving the money, the Supreme Court judges unanimously granted the Attorney-General clearance to execute the court’s judgment ordering Mr. Woyome to refund the cash to the state.

But almost four years later, the amount is yet to be retrieved in full as the Akufo-Addo administration is currently examining the businessman in court.

–

By: Fred Djabanor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Sole Commissioner’s findings against Woyome ‘thrown out’ appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

I have written about the corrupt stratagem being adopted to substitute the Republic of Ghana for me as the plaintiff in the substantive case. I have raised the red flags for President Akufo Addo and his team to be alert to the dangers ahead and the ultimate plans of Woyome and his mentors waiting in the wings for a possible positive outcome at the Africa Court.

Mr. Kweku Baako is reported to have raised the very important issue of “the missing link…the people involved in the payment of the GHS51.2 million judgment debt.” He is reported on Ghana Web of 29^th November 2017 to have queried: “Those political functionaries, ministers, deputy ministers and party top shots who facilitated that payment, we haven’t yet looked at them. A thorough investigation into the conduct of these people should be initiated…how did they sit for one person to swindle them and the entire nation.” Mr. Baako is further reported to have expressed his incomprehension of how public officials allowed this to slip by and why until now nothing has been done to them.

The whole country will recollect that when Woyome was being tried before the sham Court of the irredeemably corrupt High Court Justice John Ajet-Nasam, I continued to insist that it will be difficult to secure a conviction of Woyome in the case without prosecuting those who aided and facilitated the commission of the offence with which he was charged. The New Patriotic Party both in and outside parliament shared the same sentiments as did Mr. Kweku Baako throughout the trial.

Nothing epitomizes corruption in the annals of the history of this country better than the circumstances and context of the Woyome case, and its trial by an irredeemably corrupt High Court Justice. Accordingly, one understood the promise by President Nana Akufo Addo and his party to fight corruption to include dealing with the residual matters relating to what Mr. Kweku Baako now calls “the missing link.”

No reasonable person expects President Nana Akufo Addo to personally investigate and deal with suspects in fulfillment of his promises of fighting corruption and dealing with past corruption which substantially contributed to earning him the Presidency. This is a function of his appointees to whom he has assigned ministerial responsibility for security and intelligence, law and order, and particularly justice.

The change of Government brought about by the electorate who demonstrated their hatred for corruption in the body politic offered the chances for the new Government to reopen the case and find the real facts, which the previous Government suppressed because it was itself complicit in the commission of the suspected crimes.  Eleven months down the line nothing has been done or is being done to the knowledge of the public to redeem the President’s promise on this outstanding matter.

One of the problems faced by some of the appointees of the present Government is the ability to go beyond the biased advice being proffered to them by the senior public officers they inherited from the previous Government. A conscientious and knowledgeable Minister should be able within the first three months in office to know how many of his officers were recently promoted by the outgoing Government and their role in cover ups in the Ministry. The inability of any Minister to understand the composition and promotional history of his senior public servants upon whom he depends for advice within the first three to six months means that he may be working with moles planted before the demise of the previous Government.

A simple analysis of the staff list in any Ministry including transfers within a period will easily give any Minister a bird’s eye view of how very junior staff wormed their way into acting senior positions above their very senior and competent colleagues and were later promoted in the election year, just in case the ballot was lost. This may provide an opening into the dependability and professionalism of some senior public servants in calling the Government’s attention to residual issues needing urgent redress.

The Woyome criminal trial was conducted before a pertinently and irredeemably corrupt judge who did not feel shy chasing accused persons around Accra to collect bribes. This matter is recorded on video and Ghanaians who cared to watch saw now disgraced Justice Ajet-Nasam plainly executing his endemic behavior of taking bribes and corrupting his judgments in criminal cases.

The manner the case was prosecuted by the Government and its lawyers clearly facilitated the verdict pronounced by the irredeemably corrupt former Justice Ajet-Nasam of the High Court whom the whole world now knows sold justice for cash and had a penchant for chasing accused persons for payment.

In any civilized system of criminal justice administration, the Woyome trial should have been vacated at the instance of the Republic because of the overwhelming evidence that now disgraced Justice Ajet-Nasam did not have the capacity to administer impartial criminal justice by virtue of his internalized endemic corrupt nature. The disgraced former Justice did not even challenge the case of bribery and corruption so glaringly made against him on video because he was guilty to high heavens. But the Government of the day simply allowed him to disappear for corrupt services previously rendered to it.

But the same law officers who deliberately chose to prosecute Woyome without his co-suspects knowing very well that they were likely to lose the case as a result are still those in position to compromise the execution of the President’s promise of fighting corruption. Furthermore, the same senior law officers who thwarted the execution of the judgment and engaged in various spurious agreements with him while their more senior court going colleagues were in the Supreme Court trying to execute the judgment are still those in position to advise the present Government on outstanding matters related to the case.

As a result of lack of progress in the execution of the Woyome judgment I obtained in the Supreme Court and my concerns about how the residual criminal matters were not being handled by the present Government, I wrote a letter dated 5^th October 2017 to the Attorney General and copied the Chief of Staff at the Presidency on the execution of the Supreme Court Judgment. Nobody bothered to formally acknowledge even the receipt of my letter from the Attorney General’s Office.

I observed in that letter that:

There are other aspects of this Woyome case which your Government if it is really bent on fighting corruption could pursue in addition to the judgment and order under reference. Unfortunately you have the misfortune of working with some officers who have earned their mid-night promotions protecting the looting and covering up of the activities of the previous Government. They have no interest in pointing out residual matters in this case to your Government unless your Government has a personal commitment, the energy and industry to fish out those matters by yourselves.

I wish H. E. the President and you God’s guidance in all your genuine efforts to protect the national purse from looters of all kinds and hues holding various political party cards as an insurance against crime.”

I was talking about Mr. Kweku Baako’s “the missing link” and why it might not be receiving the attention of the Government as promised by the President. Mr. Kweku Baako and I have been talking about this missing link for years and this is the only Government that can deal with it if indeed it has a commitment to fight corruption. Thank you, Mr. Kweku Baako, for not allowing the matter of “the missing link” in the Woyome criminal saga to die a natural death for lack of any public voice to remind the Government of its compact with the electorate on 7^th December 2016.

Mr. President, remember that the buck on fighting corruption stops with you whether it succeeds or fails.

–

By:  Martin A. B. K. Amidu

The post Martin Amidu writes: Woyome’s suspected crimes and the missing link appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to the decision by a five-member panel of justices, there’s no real factual and legal basis for Ghana’s Supreme Court to share its powers and jurisdiction with any other court, and so it cannot be compelled to halt the ongoing proceedings.

[contextly_sidebar id=”84hRz78uDv4q57LMLLTw2kW2mO1TOZA0″]The African Court on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) ordered Ghana to suspend all efforts to retrieve the GH₵51.2 million, until the Court determines an appeal filed by the businessman, who argued that his human rights are being abused by Ghana’s Supreme Court.

In a unanimous ruling, the 11-member panel of the African Court, ordered Ghana to suspend the seizure of any property belonging to the businessman and “take all appropriate measures to maintain the status quo and avoid the property being sold’’ until the case was determined.

But the Ghanaian justices, after rejecting the African Court’s order, further went on to dismiss Mr. Woyome’s application for stay of proceedings pending the final outcome of the case before the African Court, describing it as one without merit.

Background

Mr. Woyome was paid the GHc 51 million after claiming he helped Ghana raise funds to construct stadia for the hosting of the 2008 African Cup of Nations.

However, an Auditor General’s report released in 2010, held that the amount was paid illegally to him.

Subsequently, the Supreme Court in 2014 ordered Mr. Woyome to pay back the money, after Martin Amidu, a private legal practitioner challenged the legality of the payments.

Following delays in retrieving the money, Supreme Court judges unanimously granted the Attorney General clearance to execute the court’s judgment, ordering Mr. Woyome to refund the cash to the state.

There had been previous attempts to orally examine Mr. Woyome, with Mr. Amidu himself, in 2016, filing an application at the Supreme Court to find out how the businessman was going to pay back the money.

This came after the Attorney General’s office under the Mahama Administration, led by the former Minister for Justice, Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong, discontinued a similar application.

In February 2017 however, Mr. Amidu withdrew his suit seeking an oral examination, explaining that the change of government and the assurance by the new Attorney General to retrieve all judgment debts wrongfully paid to individuals, had given him renewed confidence in the system.

Woyome runs to African court after ICC rejection

Alfred Agbesie Woyome proceeded to the African Human Rights Court in August 2017, when the government began a valuation of his properties in an attempt to retrieve Ghc51 million wrongfully paid to him in a judgement debt.

The application at the ACHPR in August 2017, was in response to the Supreme Court’s judgement on July 29, 2014 that ordered him to pay the GH₵51.2 million on the grounds that he got the money out of unconstitutional and invalid contracts between the state and Waterville Holdings Limited in 2006 for the construction of stadia for CAN 2008.

This was after a similar case he filed at the International Chamber of Commerce had been dismissed.

He alleged in his application that Ghana did not respect the terms of the agreement that governed the financial engineering role he played in the transaction, and as such his rights and freedoms recognized under the ACHPR Charter had been violated.

He prayed the ACHPR to halt all processes seeking to execute the Supreme Court’s July 29, 2014 judgement, until his case was determined by the ACHPR.

–

By: Fred Djabanor & Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Ghana’s Supreme Court rejects African Court ruling on Woyome appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

In a unanimous ruling on November 24, 2017, the 11-member panel ordered Ghana to suspend the seizure of any property belonging to the businessman, “take all appropriate measures to maintain the status quo and avoid the property being sold’’ until the case was determined.

Alfred Agbesie Woyome proceeded to the African Human Rights Court in August 2017, when government began a valuation of his properties in an attempt to retrieve Ghc51 million wrongfully paid to him in a judgement debt.

The Court in a decision by an eleven member panel, said it will be unfair for the state to be allowed to auction Woyome’s properties, since the court could rule in his favour.

“The court finds that the situation raised in the present application is of extreme gravity and urgency on the basis that should the applicant’s property be attached and sold to recover the 51, 283, 480.59, the applicant would suffer irreparable harm if the application on the merits is decided in his favour…”the court said.

“The court finds that the circumstance require that an order for provisional measures be issued, in accordance with Article 27 (2) of the Protocol and Rule 51 of the Rules, to preserve the status quo, pending the determination of the application.”

The ACHPR further ordered Ghana to report to it within 15 days “from the date of receipt of this order on measures taken to implement this order”.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court in Ghana is expected to give its judgment today, Tuesday], on the same matter, where Alfred Woyome is seeking a stay of proceedings until his case at the African Court is dealt with it.

It is unclear whether the decision of the African Court, will have any impact on the outcome from Ghana’s Supreme Court.

Background

Mr. Woyome was paid the GHc 51 million after claiming he helped Ghana raise funds to construct stadia for the hosting of the 2008 African Cup of Nations.

However, an Auditor General’s report released in 2010, held that the amount was paid illegally to him.

Subsequently, the Supreme Court in 2014 ordered Mr. Woyome to pay back the money, after Martin Amidu, a private legal practitioner challenged the legality of the payments.

Following delays in retrieving the money, Supreme Court judges unanimously granted the Attorney General clearance to execute the court’s judgment, ordering Mr. Woyome to refund the cash to the state.

There had been previous attempts to orally examine Mr. Woyome, with Mr. Amidu himself, in 2016, filing an application at the Supreme Court to find out how the businessman was going to pay back the money.

This came after the Attorney General’s office under the Mahama Administration, led by the former Minister for Justice, Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong, discontinued a similar application.

In February 2017 however, Mr. Amidu withdrew his suit seeking an oral examination, explaining that the change of government and the assurance by the new Attorney General to retrieve all judgment debts wrongfully paid to individuals, had given him renewed confidence in the system.

Woyome runs to African court after ICC rejection

In  August 2017, Mr. Woyome filed an application at the ACHPR in response to the Supreme Court’s judgement on July 29, 2014 that ordered him to pay the GH₵51.2 million on the grounds that he got the money out of unconstitutional and invalid contracts between the state and Waterville Holdings Limited in 2006 for the construction of stadia for CAN 2008.

He alleged in his application that Ghana did not respect the terms of the agreement that governed the financial engineering role he played in the transaction, and as such his rights and freedoms recognized under the ACHPR Charter had been violated.

He followed the substantive application with another application on July 4, 2017, praying the ACHPR to halt all processes seeking to execute the Supreme Court’s July 29, 2014 judgement, until his case was determined by the ACHPR.

–

By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah

The post African Court ruling favours Woyome appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

This is the sixth application he has filed since the beginning of his oral examination by the Attorney General.

Mr. Woyome is praying the court to put on hold all processes to reclaim the money from him until a determination of another related case being heard at the African court.

[contextly_sidebar id=”R0uYWplvicBzjnKdUJzyHZvlYEML20aX”]Mr. Woyome, who was expected to continue with the oral examination on how he intends to re-pay the judgment debt, did not show up court in court today, Monday, claiming that he is unwell.

The Supreme Court on October 20, 2017, dismissed an application by Mr. Woyome, which sought to stop the seizure and valuation of his properties by the state.

The Supreme Court made the ruling in an application he had filed to stop the government from continuing with moves to seize and value his properties.

His application followed state officials storming one of his residences at Trasacco to value the property.

The court presided over by a sole judge, Justice Alfred Benin, described the application as one without merit hence his decision.

The ruling by the court paved way for the state to continue with the valuation of the properties of Mr. Woyome in its quest to retrieve the monies he owes the state.

–

By: Fred Djabanor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Woyome ‘runs’ to Supreme Court for cover appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The court presided by a sole judge, Justice Alfred Benin, described the application as one without merit hence his decision.

[contextly_sidebar id=”R1IpseynqTseN5zeiO1fCAEUGopoaCOS”]The ruling by the court paved way for the state to continue with the valuation of the properties of Mr. Woyome in its quest to retrieve monies he owes the state from a judgment debt wrongfully paid to him.

Alfred Woyome last week filed an application at the court to stop the government from continuing with moves to seize and value his properties. His application followed state officials storming one of his residences at Trasaco to value the property.

Meanwhile, the government has indicated that it will begin another round of valuation and seizure of other properties of Mr. Woyome, in a bid to get the rest of GHs47. 2 million left to be paid by him, out of the total sum of Ghc51 million.

A Deputy Attorney General, Godfred Dame, who spoke to the media after today’s [Friday] proceedings, said the state is determined to recover the money from Woyome, and will not be deterred by efforts by Woyome to impede the process.

“I can assure you that nothing will hinder the state in its efforts to recover the money. These are all ploys that will be swept away. No impediment, whatsoever that is placed in the way of the state by Mr. Woyome will prevent the state from recovering the money. Surely the day of reckoning will come,” he said.

Background to saga

Mr. Woyome was paid the GHc 51 million after claiming he helped Ghana raise funds to construct stadia for the hosting of the 2008 African Cup of Nations.

However, an Auditor General’s report released in 2010, held that the amount was paid illegally to him.

Subsequently, the Supreme Court in 2014 ordered Mr. Woyome to pay back the money, after a former Attorney General, Martin Amidu, challenged the legality of the payments.

Following delays in retrieving the money, Supreme Court judges unanimously granted the Attorney-General clearance to execute the court’s judgment, ordering Mr. Woyome to refund the cash to the state.

There had been previous attempts to orally examine Mr. Woyome with Mr. Amidu himself, in 2016, filed an application at the Supreme Court seeking to examine Alfred Woyome, on how he was going to pay back the money, after the Attorney General’s office under the Mahama Administration, led by the former Minister for Justice, Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong, discontinued a similar application.

In February 2017 however, Mr. Amdu withdrew his suit seeking an oral examination, explaining that the change of government and the assurance by the new Attorney General to retrieve all judgement debts wrongfully paid to individuals, had given him renewed confidence in the system.

–

By: Fred Djabanor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Woyome’s application against assets valuation dismissed appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Mr. Woyome challenged the state by filing a motion at the Supreme Court praying the court to declare the actions illegal and further halt it.

[contextly_sidebar id=”NAchgV0jaXMazBjjRmuqpoub0SJAd1xj”]According to lawyers for Mr. Woyome, the order on which the state is relying to embark on the valuation process has elapsed and hence cannot be used.

Responding to the arguments by Mr. Woyome, a Deputy Attorney General, Godfred Dame, said the state’s action was based on a new order on the 6th January 2016, far different from the one being referred to by the businessman.

Earlier this month, the government began a valuation of Woyome’s properties in a quest to retrieve the GHs51m wrongfully paid to him.

Some security personnel and officials from the Ghana Valuation Board, were sent to the Trasacco residence of Mr. Woyome to conduct the valuation to build concrete evidence on his ability to pay the debt for his trial.

The case has been adjourned to the 20th of October for a ruling to be delivered.

Meanwhile, Alfred Woyome has filed a new application seeking to stop the ongoing oral examination which is also to be heard on Friday the 20th of October.

Background to saga

Mr. Woyome was paid the GHc 51 million after claiming he helped Ghana raise funds to construct stadia for the hosting of the 2008 African Cup of Nations.
However, an Auditor General’s report released in 2010, held that the amount was paid illegally to him.

Subsequently, the Supreme Court in 2014 ordered Mr. Woyome to pay back the money, after a former Attorney General, Martin Amidu, challenged the legality of the payments.

Following delays in retrieving the money, Supreme Court judges unanimously granted the Attorney-General clearance to execute the court’s judgment, ordering Mr. Woyome to refund the cash to the state.

There had been previous attempts to orally examine Mr. Woyome with Mr. Amidu himself, in 2016, filed an application at the Supreme Court seeking to examine Alfred Woyome, on how he was going to pay back the money, after the Attorney General’s office under the Mahama Administration, led by the former Minister for Justice, Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong, discontinued a similar application.

In February 2017 however, Mr. Amdu withdrew his suit seeking an oral examination, explaining that the change of government and the assurance by the new Attorney General to retrieve all judgement debts wrongfully paid to individuals, had given him renewed confidence in the system.
–
By: Fred Djabanor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Woyome files motion to stop valuation of his assets appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Mr. Woyome was expected to be orally examined today, Monday, October 2, by a Deputy Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame over his GH¢51 debt to the state.

[contextly_sidebar id=”a9b3QL6c0DDdN6V46gWGwUco2QsHZKtf”]But the court has since set October 10 as the new date for the oral examination.

A Deputy Attorney-General, Godfred Dame, in July began an inquiry into sources of income and assets of the businessman in order to recover the monies due to the state.

The last hearing of the case at the Supreme Court witnessed an almost two-hour grilling of Mr. Woyome by the deputy Attorney-General.

Mr. Woyome had prayed the Supreme Court to stay proceedings on the oral examination since he had filed for a review of the case.

But the Supreme Court dismissed the application for stay of proceedings by Businessman Alfred Woyome, seeking to halt the oral examination.

According to the court, presided over by a single Judge, Justice Alfred Benin, the application had no basis.

Earlier this month, the government began a valuation of Woyome’s properties in a quest to retrieve the GHs51m wrongfully paid to him.

Some security personnel and officials from the Ghana Valuation Board, were sent to the Trasacco residence of Mr. Woyome to conduct the valuation to build a concrete evidence on his ability to pay the debt for his trial.

Background to saga

Mr. Woyome was paid the GHc 51 million after claiming he helped Ghana raise funds to construct stadia for the hosting of the 2008 African Cup of Nations.

However, an Auditor General’s report released in 2010, held that the amount was paid illegally to him.

Subsequently, the Supreme Court in 2014 ordered Mr. Woyome to pay back the money, after a former Attorney General, Martin Amidu, challenged the legality of the payments.

Following delays in retrieving the money, Supreme Court judges unanimously granted the Attorney-General clearance to execute the court’s judgment, ordering Mr. Woyome to refund the cash to the state.

There had been previous attempts to orally examine Mr. Woyome with Mr. Amidu himself, in 2016, filed an application at the Supreme Court seeking to examine Alfred Woyome, on how he was going to pay back the money, after the Attorney General’s office under the Mahama Administration, led by the former Minister for Justice, Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong, discontinued a similar application.

In February 2017 however, Mr. Amdu withdrew his suit seeking an oral examination, explaining that the change of government and the assurance by the new Attorney General to retrieve all judgement debts wrongfully paid to individuals, had given him renewed confidence in the system.

–

By: Fred Djabanor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Woyome oral examination adjourned appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Deputy Attorney-General, Godfred Dame in July began an inquiry into sources of income and assets of the businessman in order to recover the monies due to the state.

The last hearing of the case at the Supreme Court witnessed an almost two-hour grilling of Mr. Woyome by the deputy AG.

Mr. Woyome had prayed the Supreme Court to stay proceedings on the oral examination since he had filed for a review of the case.

But the Supreme Court dismissed the application for stay of proceedings by Businessman Alfred Woyome, seeking to halt an oral examination by the Attorney General.

According to the court, presided over by a single Judge, Justice Alfred Benin, the application had no basis.

Background to saga

Mr. Woyome was paid the GHc 51 million after claiming he helped Ghana raise funds to construct stadia for the hosting of the 2008 African Cup of Nations.

However, an Auditor General’s report released in 2010, held that the amount was paid illegally to him.

Subsequently, the Supreme Court in 2014 ordered Mr. Woyome to pay back the money, after a former Attorney General, Martin Amidu, challenged the legality of the payments.

Following delays in retrieving the money, Supreme Court judges unanimously granted the Attorney-General clearance to execute the court’s judgment, ordering Mr. Woyome to refund the cash to the state.

There had been previous attempts to orally examine Mr. Woyome with Mr. Amidu himself, in 2016, filed an application at the Supreme Court seeking to examine Alfred Woyome, on how he was going to pay back the money, after the Attorney General’s office under the Mahama Administration, led by the former Minister for Justice, Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong, discontinued a similar application.

In February 2017 however, Mr. Amdu withdrew his suit seeking an oral examination, explaining that the change of government and the assurance by the new Attorney General to retrieve all judgement debts wrongfully paid to individuals, had given him renewed confidence in the system.

–

By: Fred Djabanor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post AG resumes oral examination of Woyome today appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to the report, the MoF and the CAGD failed to capture the amount in their accounts in 2016.

The omission is one of two judgement debts that did not reflect in the accounts of the Consolidated Fund. The second one is a $3.8 million judgement debt against Dunkwa Continental Goldfields Ltd (DCGL) that the country won at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in August 2015.

[contextly_sidebar id=”qVGuYx5VAKZhJcMBW5ANAIjxa5wOUjlL”]The response offered by CAGD in the case of Mr Woyome’s money was that the amount had been “disclosed in the notes to the Public Accounts, since our revenue policy requires that revenue is recognised only upon receipt”.

On the ICC order, the report said: “The Ministry of Justice and Attorney-General (MoJAG) stated that the company could not be traced at their last official address. We have, however, disclosed the transaction in the notes to the Public Accounts.”

However, the 2016 Auditor-General’s Report on the Consolidated Fund stated that notwithstanding the CAGD’s explanation, the anomaly constituted weaknesses that must be addressed holistically.

It was the view of the Auditor-General that periodic monitoring and reconciliation among debtor institutions, Public Debt and Investment (PDI) and Debt Management Division, were done on an ad hoc basis and, therefore, not comprehensive to cover the state’s entire receivables.

Background

The state has been battling Mr Woyome since 2012 over the GH₵51 million paid him in a default judgement in 2010.

The Supreme Court, in a review application on July 29, 2014, ordered Mr Woyome to refund the money because the contract upon which he received the payment had not been sent to Parliament for approval, contrary to the 1992 Constitution.

In the case of the DCGL judgement debt, a tribunal constituted under the rules of the ICC in 2015 dismissed a $200-million claim filed against Ghana by two foreign-owned mining companies.

The companies, the DCGL and the Continental Construction and Mining Company Limited (CCML), filed the action against the government in 2011 but the tribunal threw out their claims for lack of merit.

It then proceeded to award $3,164,137.51 against the applicants and a further order for a refund of $700,000 to Ghana.

Both companies had accused the government of unlawfully terminating their contracts, but the tribunal held a different view after taking the submissions of the parties into consideration.

However, the tribunal upheld the state’s counter-claim for $700,000, being a World Bank loan that was lent to the two companies by the government.

According to the tribunal, the government of Ghana, acting through the then Minister of Lands, Forestry and Mines, did not breach or unlawfully terminate the project agreement relating to the Dunkwa gold mine.

Government owes SSNIT & NPRA

In the same report, the Auditor General stated that last year the Ministry of Finance failed to transfer GH¢819,880,284 of mandatory statutory funds to the Social Security and National insurance Trust (SSNIT) and the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA).

As of December 31, 2016, the MoF had failed to transfer GH₵534,849,413 to SSNIT as the contribution of public sector workers.

Similarly, GH₵285,030,871 was not transferred to the NPRA as required by law.

Section 3(b) of the National Pensions Act, 2008 states: “Out of the total contribution of eighteen and a half per centum, an employer shall, within 14 days from the end of each month, transfer the following remittances to the mandatory schemes on behalf of each worker: (a) thirteen and half per centum to the first tier mandatory basic national social security scheme; and (b) five per centum to the second tier mandatory occupational pension scheme.”

According to the Auditor-General, the government’s failure to ensure the payments meant that the government risked “paying penalties at the rate of three per cent per each month of default to the schemes as enshrined in Section 64 of the Act”.

He recommended that the MoF should ensure that the outstanding balances were transferred to the schemes immediately to avoid payment of penalties by the government and also ensure strict adherence to Section 3 of the National Pensions Act, 2008.

No excuse

In a management response, the MoF stated that the non-payment of those amounts to the NPRA and SSNIT was due to cash flow constraints.

“The MoF has made provisions for these arrears in the 2017 budget. Discussions have been initiated with the institutions to agree on a payment plan to settle the outstanding amounts,” it said.

However, the Auditor-General, from his audit position, said: “In my view, cash flow constraints cannot be used as a justification for the anomaly.”

Discrepancies in debts

Apart from the MoF’s indebtedness to the two pension-related institutions, the report revealed discrepancies in the closing balances reported by the CAGD and the confirmation received from the statutory institutions — the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) and the Road Fund — amounting to GH¢1,306,592,288.

While in the books of the NHIA, it had GH¢544,976,790 as the government debt, the Public Accounts had GH¢793,543,687, with the difference noted as GH¢248,566,897 by the Auditor-General.

For the GIIF, GH¢2,235,146,303 was stated as the government’s obligation, but in the CAGD’s books, the government’s debt was GH¢693,190,263, with GH¢1,541,956,040 as the difference.

For the Road Fund, it stated GH¢225,573,791 as the government’s liability, but the Public Accounts had GH¢212,370,646, with GH¢13,203,145 as the difference.

According to the report, the anomaly could be attributed to the inability of the CAGD to perform periodic reconciliation with the statutory institutions to confirm their balances.

“This also led to the unexplained difference of GH¢1,306,592,288 between the liabilities reported in the Consolidated Fund Accounts and those captured by the statutory institutions,” it said.

The Auditor-General recommended that the “CAGD should liaise with the institutions to reconcile the liabilities to ensure that accurate figures are restated in the financial statements to reflect the true liability position of the government to the institutions”.

The CAGD, in response, said it was in the process of reconciling the discrepancies noted.
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Source: Graphic Online

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