General News of Thursday, 12 July 2012

Source: radioxyzonline

Judgment debts has plunged Ghana into crisis - Tony Aidoo

The Director of Monitoring and Evaluation at the Presidency, Tony Aidoo says the numerous and hefty judgment debts that has bedeviled the country has plunged the nation into crisis.

According to him, the revelations are a clear indication of the "indiscipline and the malfeasance of government officials" both past and present, which he says threatens the very stability of the nation.

“This nation is in crisis, crisis that threatens the very stability of the nation” Mr. Aidoo said in an interview on Joy FM.

He added that if pragmatic measures are not taken to collectively solve the issues of judgment debts, the country’s image both locally and internationally will be dented.

Mr. Tony Aidoo’s comments come in the wake of mounting public outcry over the payment of huge sums of money to private individuals and corporate institutions by the government, most of which have been occasioned by court rulings or out-of-court settlements between the state and the aggrieved parties.

Some of these judgment debts have arisen from the alleged illegal termination of various contracts initially entered into between the Government of Ghana and some individuals and institutions.

Speaking to Joy FM on Thursday, Mr. Tony Aidoo supported the call for a non-partisan commission of inquiry to delve into the circumstances under which the numerous judgments debts came about and how the settlements were arrived at.

Mr. Aidoo however added that the difficulty the commission is likely to face is that most of the judgment debts cases are still in court.**