Ghana: Government is not interested in retrieving ¢51.8m of taxpayers’ money from Woyome – NPP

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) is accusing the Mahama-led administration of deliberately refusing to retrieve the 51 million cedis judgment debt paid to Alfred Woyome. According to the party, even though there is a Supreme Court ruling asking the state to retrieve the money, government has deliberately through its actions refused to abide by the ruling. Addressing a news conference in Accra on Thursday, Director of Communications for the NPP, Nana Akomea, argued that the recent Court of Appeal ruling on the Woyome matter, is a clear indication that government is not interested in retrieving the money.

 “…Mr. Woyome being paid ¢51.8m of taxpayers’ monies in 2010, clearly showed a deliberate pattern of high ranking NDC government officials, aided by highly placed public servants to collude, connive and conspire with NDC connected individuals to misappropriate taxpayers monies.” He argued that “both acquittals were secured on the ground that the state had not presented a convincing case to the courts for the conviction of Mr. Woyome.

The NPP like a vast number of Ghanaians, is not surprised at these turn of events regarding the criminal prosecution of Mr. Woyome over the NDC government’s payment to him of taxpayers monies to the tune of Gh¢51.8m in 2010. At that time the money was worth $35 million.”  The Court of Appeal on March 10 dismissed an appeal by the Attorney General challenging a ruling of the High Court that freed businessman Alfred Woyome of any criminal offence in the GHC51 million judgment debt payment case.

 The ruling came about a year after an Accra High Court acquitted and discharged him of charges of defrauding the state by false pretense and willfully causing financial loss to the state. The Presiding Judge, Justice Adjet Nassam, at the time, cited the shoddy work done by prosecution as the reason for his judgment.