GH¢4m Paid For Calendars Without Official Contract

Justice of the Court of Appeal, Yaw Appau

Justice of the Court of Appeal, Yaw Appau






An amount of GH¢4, 009,401.62 from the Consolidated Fund has been paid to Margins Group of Companies Limited, as judgment debt although the company has no official contract with the government.

The company received the amount in November 2010 from the government in respect to the payment and distribution of calendars to the state, during the Ghana@50 celebrations in 2007.

The state did not enter into any official contract with Margins Group of Companies Ltd as a corporate entity.

The company was yesterday subpoenaed before the Commission on Judgment Debt to assist to unravel the circumstances surrounding the payment of the amount.

The payment, which is captured in the Auditor-General’s report on Consolidated Funds for the year 2010, was the first to be brought before the Sole Commissioner, Justice Yaw Apaw, when the Commission resumed its sitting from the Easter break.

It was therefore revealed that the company which actually entered into an agreement with the government was, Margins Suppliers Company Limited, a subsidiary company of Margins Group of Companies Ltd, which is considered as a separate legal entity distinct from its parent company.

Although the Commission refrained from developing into the legalities involved in the payment of the judgment debt, it requested for some documentary evidence on the payments which were produced by the Chief Finance and Operations Officer of Margins Group, Benjamin Nii Addy, who represented the company.

Mr Addy explained that the amount was paid to Margins Group because it is the holding company which had Margins Suppliers Company Ltd and Margins I.T Systems Ltd as its subsidiaries.

However, the reason why judgment debt was awarded to the holding company which had no official business with the government was not explained.

Justice Apaw discharged the company’s representative adding that the Commission would request for further information at an appropriate time.

Another company, Mahogany Furniture Company Limited, which was also scheduled to appear before the Commission, failed to do so.

The Commission also heard a case involving the payment of an amount of GH¢11.5m to Nana Kwaku Dua III and Akyiaa Tiwaa as compensation for the wrongful acquisition of their land at Kwadaso in Kumasi by the Ghana Armed Forces.

The land was acquired by the military in 1963 without any executive instrument. The Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency, Kwabena Twum Obese Jeti, was the last to appear before the Commission and produced audit reports of the agency from 2005 to 2011.

He assured the Commission to produce the agency’s 2012 report on April.