THE STATE�S inability to defray a judgment debt sum of GH�203,000.00 within three months resulted in the state paying an additional $4.9m to Delta Foods Limited after it was contracted to import grains to the state.
The chief manager of the banking department of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) who appeared before the commission of enquiry investigating judgment debts incurred by the state said they can only attest to the instruction it got from the Controller and Accountant General�s Department.
Mr. Hammond said, �My Lord, we received a payment instruction from the Controller and Accountant General�s Department dated November 24, 1999 to make a payment of an amount of 20.3 billion cedis to the judiciary deposits account number 0125660049003.�
According to him, the payment instructions received from the Controller and Accountant General�s Department specified that the payment was in respect of judgment debt settlement to Delta Foods Limited, and by a copy of that letter, the judicial secretary was informed as such, so that was the directive we received from the controller and Accountant General�s Department.
�My Lord, in addition to the payment which payment we made in Ghana we received two additional payment instructions to make payment; this time round in foreign currency offshore.
�The sum total amount which we made in two installments came to $4.9m dollars, the first one, we made a transfer of 2.5 million dollars, the final settlement we made a payment of 2.4 million dollars.�
He further told the commission chaired by Justice Yaw Apau that, �the document we received did indicate that the two additional payments also resulted from judgement debt, in this case, the judgement was given in the United States of America and not in Ghana.�
Asked by counsel of the commission Dometi Sokpor why the delay, he replied, �My lord regarding the delay in payment in my candid opinion the bank acted expeditiously and timeously, because the first instruction from the Controller and Accountant General�s Department asked us to make a transfer of 20.3 billion cedis into the judiciary service deposit account. And that that instruction came on November 24, 1999.�
�Now the subsequent instruction that came for us to make the transfer from the judiciary service account into the plaintiff account came to us on March 10, 2000.
�My Lord, the bank did not accede to the request because ordinarily the bank will take instructions from account holders only since Delta Foods Limited was not account holders so far as the bank is concerned and we had no obligation to respond to their requests.�
Justice Apau observed through documents available to the commission that, after the judgment was entered the state did not pay the money on time so they took an action in Washington to enforce the high court judgment.
�The US court also gave a judgment by then the cedi had depreciated, that accounted for the extra $4.9m that was paid outside, so it was in addition to the 20.3 billion. The 20.3 billion was not paid on time that is why the 4.9$million.�
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