State to Appeal against GH�600,000 Judgement Debt

There are credible indications that the State, through the Attorney-General�s Department (A-G�s), is likely to appeal against a judgement debt of at least GH�602,609.50 (�6 billion) and 5% interest over 28 months. The Court also awarded costs of GH�50,000 against the State. On July 30, 2009, the Commercial Division of the Accra High Court, presided over by Her Ladyship, Mrs. Justice Margaret Welbourne, ordered the State to pay over GH�602,000 (over �6 billion), with interest at the contractual rate of 5% from July 1, 2007 to NDK Financial Services. This is for breach of a contract by the Ghana Prisons Service when it refused to accept specified combat boots from the Apex Consulting Services. Briefly, the facts of the case, as per the certified true copy of the judgement stated that in December, 2005, the Director General of the Ghana Prisons Service (GPS) informed Apex Consulting Services Limited (apex) that it had won the bid to supply 5,310 pairs of combat boots to the GPS for GH�308,378. The Ministry of Finance also made a letter available, authorizing the release of the amount for payment of the boots. Apex applied for a loan from the NDK Financial Services Limited (NDK) in January, 2006 and based on the letters from the GPS and Finance, NDK approved of the application. Furthermore, the GPS wrote a guarantee that makes payment for the boots in the joint names of the NDK and Apex. The GPS also stipulated that the order of the combat boots was valid for 90 days. A source at the A-G�s Department hinted the Daily Dispatch that evidence adduced in court indicated that the explicit description for the 5,310 pairs of combat boots was �AVS brand Genuine Leather, direct vulcanized TPR sole boot 12� height graded as per size with 22 eyelets�, invoice, tendered in Court, said the delivery at Tema was March 30, 2006. Another Court exhibit, the Bill of Lading referred to 360 cartons containing Gents Leather Half Boots, very different from combat boots as specified in the contract. A Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) report also tendered in Court, verified the importation of gents synthetic Leather half boots, totaling 1,400 pairs and 1,760 pairs of gents leather full boots. The 1,400 full boots cleared on February 9, 2007 were 9� high with 9� eyelets and NOT the specified 12� high, with 11 eyelets. The source indicated that the State had a very good chance of succeeding the appeal level because the subject matter of the contract with the GPS, the 5,310 combat boots had not been supplied, within the 90 days contract period.