Failure to follow advice, bad process leads to increased court debt – Deputy Attorney General

Deputy Auditor General and Minister of Justice Diana Asonaba Dapaah attributed the cause of judgment debts in the country to poor implementation processes and failure to follow GA advice.

According to her, the advice of the state’s main legal adviser before contracts are signed is either ignored or bypassed by government agencies.

“The GA office is sometimes not involved in the negotiations and discussions leading to the execution of certain agreements. In certain cases, I am afraid to say it, the opinion of the office is not sought before the execution of the agreements, regardless of the reservations expressed by the office, ”added Ms. Dapaah.

Speaking at a panel discussion on Friday, Ms. Dapaah observed that the issues that brought the state to a tribunal or arbitral tribunal were the repeal of contractual agreements or breaches.

This, she pointed out, is due to the fact that some government agencies and ministries involve its holding in contractual agreements, therefore, the defense of the state becomes difficult.

“Defending the public purse in a situation where there is little or no information or support from the institution or ministry concerned is also a great challenge, and we at the GA office do not exist. as a state apparatus with a magic wand to wipe out breaches of contract or judgment debts after they occur.

“We may have our very rare shortcomings in meeting certain procedural obligations in international arbitration proceedings which more often than not boil down to the fact that we are disabled,” Ms. Dapaah said.

MP AG therefore stated that it was necessary to deal with judgmental debts without policy in order to protect public funds for accelerated development.

The coordinator of the Third World Network-Africa, Dr Yao Graham, and a senior partner of the law firm AB and David, Mr David Ofosu-Dorte, said there was a need to strengthen the expertise of government officials in the whole process of preparing the agreement. .

Dr Graham said government contracts should include clauses limiting damages in the event of default, breach of contract or litigation.

Mr. Ofosu-Dorte, on the other hand, called for the inclusion of private sector consultants in the preparation of agreements.

For his part, the executive director of CDD-Ghana, Professor Henry Kwasi Prempeh, urged the government not to sign agreements in times of crisis, as this could yield minimal benefits.

He further advised Parliament to become actively involved in the processes leading to the signing of international contracts and agreements, adding: “Parliament is coming a bit too late.

Professor Prempeh further proposed drafting Ghana’s own model agreement to guide officials in signing contracts.