Government pays GH¢94m judgement debt yearly – Finance Minister 

According to the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, government pays over GH¢94 million to individuals and companies in judgement annually.

He explained that most of the judgement debts are due to court orders for breaches of contracts as well as compensations for personal injury claims and acquisitions.

Mr. Ofori-Atta said this on the floor of Parliament, in an answer to a question posed by Mr. Cassiel Ato Forson, the ranking member on finance, about how much government has paid in judgement debt from January 2017 to date.

Mr. Ofori-Atta also said the current administration has paid over GH¢280 million in judgement debt since it assumed power in 2017.

He said government upon assumption of office in January 2017,  met an outstanding judgement debt of over GH¢489 million.

He explained that a number of cases have been pending in court, out of which over GH¢197 million have been crystallized, bringing the total amount to GH¢679,076,438.15

Mr. Ofori-Atta said some of these payments are legitimate outcomes of court cases, but others are painful because, they were borne out of unethical behaviour of public officers, who have been entrusted with the responsibility to take care of the country’s resources.

He added that, these judgment debts, which are unpredictable, continue to pose serious risks to the country’s budget.

Source: GNA