Justice Apau chastises public officials who cause judement debts

The Judgement Debt Commissioner, Mr Justice Yaw Apau, has taken a swipe at public and civil servants whose actions and inactions, culminate in the state unnecessarily throwing away huge sums of money in the name of judgement debts.
He said the public resources wasted in such manner could have been used for enhanced salaries.

“If our own acts make the state pay more than necessary, then our fight for enhanced salaries will never succeed. There is too much waste. Instead of keeping the money so that we all benefit, it goes waste because of somebody’s negligence and failure to act,” he added.

Mr Justice Apau said this when a lawyer for 17 former police recruits who were unlawfully dismissed but were later reinstated by a court order appeared before the commission at its sitting in Accra yesterday.

Threat to garnishee

The lawyer, Mr J. K. Yeboah of Ekuafo Chambers, who had threatened to garnishee the accounts of the Police Administration, had petitioned the commission to assist him to retrieve the salaries and secure the promotions of the 17 recruits who the Police Administration had dismissed in 2007, after a police enquiry.

Mr Justice Apau wondered why public officials treated their offices and government work as something that did not warrant any urgency and seriousness and asked whether the officials involved would act if the lawyer went ahead with the threat to garnishee the accounts of the police?

He noted that immediately the garnishee action was taken, some people in office would be arrested, the Police Administration would quickly run to the Attorney- General’s office, which would in turn rush to the Minister of Finance and within the shortest period there would be some action.

Course of action

Presenting his case, Mr Yeboah said when he realised that the Police Administration was being lackadaisical towards the orders of the court, he filed for contempt and the police were advised to follow the orders of the court by reinstating the 17, paying their salary arrears and promoting them.

He said the Police Administration partially fulfilled the orders of the court by reinstating the recruits but refused to pay their salary arrears and when he wrote to the Police Administration, it replied that it was waiting for funds from the Ministry of Finance.

Mr Yeboah added that subsequent reminders to the administration were treated with contempt, to the extent that letters sent personally to the Police Headquarters were not even acknowledged.

By Donald Ato Dapatem/Daily Graphic/Ghana