Judgment debt saga: Rockshell demands $70million from Gov't

The insufferable bias that Albert Kan Dapaah has desecrated the chairmanship of the Public Account Committee (PAC) has finally contorted into threatening hemorrhage on the public purse.

Thanks to the same Albert Kan Dapaah, whose open attempts to smear the ruling NDC, led to his inviting Alfred Woyome before the PAC while the businessman was in court defending himself in the GHC51 million judgement debt payment, Rockshell International Limited has angrily turned round from a peacefully negotiated settlement with government to seek its pound of flesh from the public purse.

The company, through its lawyers at Addison and Associates, has served notice to government of its intention to walk away from a $35 million negotiated settlement that it agreed on with government in 2008, to seek a full settlement of 73.5 million that is dully owed it by government.

In a 5th October 2012 letter signed by its lawyer, Philip Addison, Attorney General, Benjamin Kunbour was notified that: “We (Rockshell's lawyers) are instructed to demand, which we hereby do, that you should take all necessary steps to ensure that Rockshell is paid the balance of its judgment debt of GHC75,149,751.47 or its United States dollars equivalent thereof together with legal costs of US$3,500,000 forthwith and at any rate not later than 14 days from the date thereof.”

The letter, abundantly warned the Attorney General that: “unless you comply with the demand as indicated above, Rockshell will have no choice but to revert to the execution process of the court to enforce the payment of its judgment debt.”

The warning paragraph afore-quoted from Lawyer Philip Addison's 5th October letter came after the Rockshell International Limited lawyer had informed the A.G that his client company had decided to reject an earlier negotiated settlement that saw Rockshell accepting $35 million instead of some $73.5 owed it by government.

Specifically, the decision to seek the pound of flesh had been informed by an annoying charade that Kan Dapaah led the PAC to put up when Rockshell appeared before it recently.

After tricking Rockshell into believing that PAC needed the company to appear before it and, 'confirm the receipt of payments indicated in the Auditor General's Report (2011),” Rockshell was subjected to an inquisition by Kan Dapaah and his PAC to create the impression that the company had covertly and intentionally overpaid by government.

On the three different occasions that the company appeared before the PAC, Kan Dapaah supervised a tirade of jeers and snide against representatives of the company from NPP members on the committee.

In a last attempt to subject the company to further to subject the company to further disgrace, Kan Dapaah intentionally invited it, without prior notice, to have a discussion on live national television regarding Rockshell's so-called responsibility to pay tax on the $35 million that was paid it in judgment debt.

Rockshell respectfully declined the invitation. However in its absence, Kan Dapaah invited officials from the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and elicited educate guesses from them as to the tax liabilities of Rockshell in respect of the $35 million paid it.

Then based on the guesses, the PAC reached the conclusion that Rockshell should be subjected to a tax audit.

GRA's move to subject Rockshell to the tax audit is what has angered the company to walk away from the earlier negotiated settlement of $35 million in return for the $73.5 million that is owed it by government.

Laweyer Philip Addison noted in his letter to the PAC that, a full payment of Rockshell's money to it would be received with a readiness to undergo the tax audit.

The original $73.5 million owed by government to Rockshell, as of September this year, consisted of $70 million in debt and $3.5 million in awarded legal costs against government.