Attorney-General Godfred Dame has responded to allegations of negligence in the payment of a $134 million judgment debt, asserting that the responsibility to settle the debt lies with the Finance Minister, not his office. The debt in question stems from a power purchase agreement between Trafigura’s Ghana Power Generation Company (GPGC) and the Government of Ghana, which a UK tribunal ruled was unlawfully terminated by Ghana in February 2018.
The legal battle culminated on January 26, 2021, when a tribunal in the United Kingdom issued a Final Award against Ghana, concluding that the government had breached its contractual obligations. The tribunal ordered Ghana to pay $134,348,661 as an Early Termination Payment, with an additional interest rate of six months USD LIBOR plus 6%. Ghana was also mandated to reimburse GPGC’s arbitration fees and expenses, amounting to $3,309,877.74, with a three-month USD LIBOR interest rate, compounded quarterly.
Despite the ruling, the Government of Ghana has only managed to make partial payments totaling $1,897,692.40, leaving a significant amount of $111,493,828.92 unpaid, which continues to accrue interest. More recently, a court in the District of Columbia, United States, granted a Motion for Default Judgment in favor of GPGC, ordering the Ghanaian government to pay the outstanding amount, along with mandatory post-judgment interest.
Former Power Minister Dr. Kwabena Donkor, who oversaw the emergency power agreement, has criticized the government’s decision to terminate the agreement and questioned why Attorney-General Godfred Dame has not resolved these legal liabilities. Dr. Donkor suggested that the Attorney-General’s Department and the Ministry of Energy may have either neglected their duties or recognized the strength of the legal case against Ghana, opting not to challenge the arbitration settlement.
In response, Mr. Dame defended his actions, stating that his role is to ensure that the Ministry of Finance makes the necessary payments as ordered by the tribunal. “The award was final, and my duty will be to ensure that the Ministry of Finance pays. And indeed, the Minister of Finance has not paid. I’m not a Minister for Finance,” Dame said during an interview on Joy FM’s Midday News on Wednesday.
He further dismissed the criticism as part of a smear campaign by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), aimed at discrediting his work as Attorney-General. “I think all these attempts, with all respect, aim to hurl mud at my reputation will not stick because the record will show that in my tenure as Attorney General, there has not been a single judgment debt,” Dame insisted.
Meanwhile, Dr. Kwabena Donkor has assured the public that a future NDC administration will thoroughly investigate all such judgment debts, with a view to prosecuting any public officers found to have caused financial loss to the state.
