Attorney General and Minister of Justice Godfred Dame has said that no arbitration awards have been issued against Ghana since he took office.
Speaking on Accra-based Citi FM, he discussed a recent US court enforcement order regarding the payment of Trafigura’s judgment debt.
“There is no US Court which is awarding judgment against the government of Ghana. It is only an enforcement order, and that enforcement order is on account of a failure to pay a judgment debt which accrued way back in January 2021 as a result of an award that was given that time,” Mr Dame clarified.
Former Power Minister Dr Kwabena Donkor has criticised the Attorney General, accusing him of failing to address the $134 million judgment debt imposed on Ghana by a tribunal in the United Kingdom.
This comes after a District of Columbia Court in the United States granted a Motion for Default Judgment in favour of Trafigura Ghana Power Generation Company (GPGC), ordering the Ghana government to pay $111,493,828.92, plus mandatory post-judgment interest.
The ruling has sparked concerns that Ghana’s assets, including its High Commission building in the U.S., could be at risk of liquidation if GPGC seeks to enforce the judgment to recover its investment.
Dr Donkor, who oversaw the emergency power agreement that led to this dispute, argues that the New Patriotic Party government’s termination of the agreement was unjustified and questions why the Attorney General and the Ministry of Energy failed to resolve the legal liabilities that have now culminated in this adverse ruling.
“What was the Attorney General’s Department and the Ministry of Energy doing? Did they sleep on the job? Or did they believe the arbitration settlement was so strong that it wasn’t worth challenging?”
Dr Donkor revealed that after the arbitration settlement, the government had agreed to negotiate with Trafigura on a settlement plan, considering an option to purchase the plant and take it over.
However, he claims the Attorney General did not follow through.
“This is not the first of such issues we filed where we go to arbitration, there is a judgement, we agree a settlement and renege on it,” he added.
But the Attorney General has disagreed with such claims.
He highlighted the significant strides Ghana has made in international arbitration, noting, “Till date, I am very confident and very proud to say that till date, there has not been a single arbitration award against the government of Ghana in my tenure as AG, and that is something that is worth celebrating.”
Mr. Dame also clarified that the Trafigura judgment debt is not a new issue, but rather a matter decided in January 2021.
The recent court action was merely an enforcement order, with the government still in the process of completing payment.