The Ministry of Finance had outstanding judgement debt of over 480 million before they came into power, Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta has said.
He made this statement on the floor of parliament when asked by the MP for Ajumako-Enyan-Esiam Constituency, Central Region how much government has paid in judgement debt from January to date.
In response the finance minister said” in January 2017 the outstanding judgement debt which we came to meet totaled GC482, 413,354.13. In addition, a number of cases have been pending in court; out of this a further GHC197,076 has crystalized bringing the total amount to GHC679, 489, 792.28.
He added that government’s approach is to renegotiate most of these judgement debts and ensure that we make as much saving as possible and continue to protect the public purse.
He added that government has been able to save tax payers an amount of GHC90 million through negotiations, further noting that government pays over GH¢94 million to individuals and companies in judgement debt yearly.
This according to him is due to orders from the court for breaches of contracts and largely compensations for personal injury claims and acquisitions which cannot be ignored.
According to him, these also cost to the taxpayer.
The Finance Minister on his part however was quick to add that that steps have been taken to minimize the cases of judgement debts as much as possible and this includes "prioritising judgement cases within legal departments, ensuring proper settlement record and negotiating with claimants to avoid expensive courts cases and judgements".
