Financial and Economic High Court presided over by Justice Afia Serwaa Asare Botwe will on April 1, 2020, deliver its ruling in the contempt case filed against the Auditor General by the Senior Minister Yaw Osafo-Maafo in the ongoing Kroll trial.
It is the contention of the Senior Minister that the failure of the A-G to respond within time to his appeal against his surcharge asking him to pay back to the State some 1 million dollars paid to Kroll and Associates for its audit services rendered to the State is a breach of the rules of Court.
Justice Afia Serwaa Asare Botwe’s Court in its ruling today the 28th of February 2020 when the case was called directed the parties in the case to file their written addresses to the registry of the Court by the 20th of March 2020 without fail to pave the way for her ruling on the matter on Wednesday, the 1st of April 2020.
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The Cases
There are two cases essentially before Justice Afia Serwaa Asare Botwe, with regard to the Auditor General and the Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Marfo, and they are; an appeal by the Senior Minister over a surcharge placed on him by the Auditor General and a contempt suit against the Auditor General by Mr. Osafo Marfo.
The Senior Minister
The Senior Minister, Mr Yaw Osafo Maafo and four other officials from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, initiated a court action against the Auditor General, Mr Daniel Yaw Domelevo to clear their names in relation to what is said to be breaches of the Public Procurement Act (PPA) that resulted in their payment of US$1 million to an international private audit firm, Kroll and Associates.
The Auditor-General
The Auditor-General has concluded that Kroll was paid for no work done, following what he said was the persistent failure of the Senior Minister to provide proof of actual work done. It is the recommendation of the Auditor General that the payment of the US$1million to Kroll and Associates, which the government, through the Ministry of Finance paid be disallowed.
Mr. Domlevo has surcharged the Senior Minister, Mr Osafo Maafo and the four other officials from the Ministry of Finance.
Substantive Case
On the substantive case of the appeal by the Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Maafo and four other against the surcharge of the Auditor General, the Court indicated that it will rather wait to determine the contempt application before it turns its attention to the main case. Lawyer for the Auditor General, Thaddeus Sory, after an initial reservation on the decision of the Court to hold on with the hearing of the substantive case got unto the same page with the Court.
The Court Adjourned sitting on the actual case to the 1st of April 2020 as well.
