Appointment Of Sole Commissioner Is An Afterthought � PC Appiah-Ofori

Anti-corruption Campaigner and Member of Parliament for Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa, Hon P.C Appiah-Ofori, has rubbished the appointment of a Sole Commissioner by President John Dramani Mahama to oversee matters relating to the payment of judgment debt, describing it as a face-saving act and a political gimmick. He asserts that President Mahama is only throwing dust into the eyes of the public, adding that the NDC government always had the opportunity to prevent the payment of some dubious judgment debts but waited until fraud was perpetrated on the people of Ghana before taking action. President John Dramani Mahama on Monday swore-in Justice Yaw Appau as the Sole Commissioner of Judgment Debts with a call on public servants and other relevant organizations to cooperate with him by providing information. He said judgment debts had assumed national dimension and attracted so much public interest that there was the need to initiate measures that would stem the haphazard manner in which these debts were paid. But speaking in an interview on Okay FM�s Ade Akye Abia Morning Show, the outspoken politician accused President Mahama of dereliction of duty in his capacity as Vice-President when he failed to act in the payment of some of these judgement debt monies. To him, the appointment of a Sole Commissioner by the president is just an afterthought since he (Mahama) had the opportunity to act a long time ago but did nothing until the damage had already been done. He pointed out that the country�s Financial Administration Act forbids government from paying for service rendered until there is confirmation from a third party, but President Mahama and his government went ahead to pay judgment debts without no such validation. �Section 22 of the Financial Administration Act states that a government shall not spend any money to pay anybody who claims to have worked or supplied anything for the government unless a third party has issued a statement to confirm that truly the person has done the work,� he said.