President John Dramani Mahama has served notice government will no longer entertain the payment of dubious judgment debts which ended up putting a huge burden on the public purse.
Receiving the 501-page report of the Sole Commissioner on Judgement Debt at the Flagstaff House Wednesday, Mahama said the “diligent” work of the Commission will save Ghana a whopping sum which could have ended up in the pockets of “dubious public officials” in the guise of judgement debt.
“I assure the Commission and the entire nation that government will study the report thoroughly and ensure adequate measures are instituted within the framework of the National Anti-corruption Action Plan to avoid the recurrence of the repayment of such dubious debts as they occurred over the years,” the president promised Justice Yaw Appau.
According to Mahama, the revelations at the Commission’s sitting were intriguing hence the government will act on the report to save the state coffers.
Mahama noted: “I am happy to have received the report of the Sole Commissioner. I have followed closely the work of the Commission as much as my schedule will allow me and the complicity of some public officials and their collaborators in the private sector is palpable. Even at the public hearing many marvelled at the collusion to abuse the system for public gain.”
He saluted the Commissioner, who is now a nominee to the Supreme Court, for his advisory role which saved Ghana millions of Cedis.
“Government has taken some key measures to halt these trend and even during the sitting of the commission upon the advice of the Sole Commissioner payment of compensations that were being made by the Ministry of Finance in respect to lands inundated during the construction of the Akosombo Dam were halted,” Mahama recalled.
The Sole Commissioner was appointed on October 8, 2012 to address the issue of judgement debt which rocked the nation a few years ago and became a matter of public concern.
