General News of Friday, 12 July 2019

Source: starrfm.com.gh

NPP government pays over GhC280m in judgment debt

Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta

The Akufo-Addo administration has paid over GhC 280 million as judgment debt since it took office in 2017, the finance minister disclosed Friday.

Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta said the situation is a drain on the country’s economy.

Answering questions in Parliament, Mr. Ofori-Atta disclosed the country’s judgment debt stood at over GhC 679 million out of which over 280 million has been paid.

Mr. Ofori-Atta assured government is pursuing measures aimed at reducing judgment debts.

“It’s a deplorable development in our country and can disrupt our budget,” the Finance Minister stated.

He added: “The government’s approach is to renegotiate most of these judgment debts and ensure we make as much savings as much as possible… and in one case we were able to save the tax payer some GhC90 million.”



He noted that the payment of judgment debt is a cost to the tax payer and as a result the government has decided to minimize cost as much as possible by strengthening the attorney general’s department.