Former Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Madam Betty Mould-Iddrisu, may have put up a sparkling performance when she appeared before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) last week to testify about her role in the payment of 94 million Euros judgment debt to Construction Pioneers (CP).
Indeed, members of the ruling NDC have lauded the former minister for silencing members of the committee who she had accused of criminal insinuations that impugned her integrity with respect to the CP judgment debt case.
But Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr., seems not to be one of her fans.
Though the newspaper editor concedes Madam Mould-Iddrisu may have been eloquent in her delivery, he is however dissatisfied with some of the answers she gave.
Madam Mould-Iddrisu, during her presentation, asserted that she protected the interest of Ghana with the decisions she took regarding the settlement debt payment to CP.
Accompanied by three defense counsels including Nana Ato Dadzie, she stoutly defended her actions claiming her recommendations in the CP judgment debt saga “were bold decisions” that benefited the country eventually.
“According to the Ghana Bar Association code of conduct’s section 48, it states that when you can settle, settle it. Indeed, if you do not settle, it is a misconduct on the part of the lawyer…What did Ghana benefit by my settlement at the time I was Attorney General? Ghana benefitted a reduction from a 162 million to 80 million [euros] as far as I’m concerned, a freeze on the spiraling interest and we were able to spread payment over three years,” Madam Mould-Iddrisu insisted.
According to her, when she entered into negotiation, she wrote to the Chief of Staff to inform him of what she was about to do. She also added that she did receive an official reply which acknowledged receipt of what action she wanted to take though she cannot find the letter to that effect.
The ex-AG told the committee in an emphatic manner that she informed government about the case, but she was not constitutionally mandated to seek approval from the Presidency to sanction payment.
Contributing to discussions on Peace FM’s Kokrokoo Morning Show, Mr. Pratt noted that though the former A-G gave colorful enlightenment of her constitutional role, her legal obligations and the code of ethics of the Ghana Bar Association among others, he wondered whether an Attorney General can take decisions in civil cases without reference to the client; in this instance, the Executive.
“People said she was very articulate, yes I concede, but I still cannot accept her explanation that as A-G, when she is paying judgment debt she can do it on her own without reference to the executive. As an ordinary Ghanaian citizen, I am uncertain about that because the A-G has two responsibilities, when it comes to prosecution of criminal offences; nobody is above the authority in determining who to prosecute and who not to prosecute. She doesn’t have to go to the president to ask whether to take a case to court or not; but I will suspect that in civil cases, she acts as an advisor to government and a legal officer of government. How can you lead a case for your client and don’t take instructions from your client?” he asked.
To Mr. Pratt, there is no way a legal representative (Betty Mould) can take a decision on behalf of her client (government) without express instructions from the client.
The senior journalist also raised concerns over the accumulation of interest rates on some judgment debts payment, and suggested that a way should be found to freeze the interests on some of these debts once the cases are being dealt with in court.
Source: Beatrice Adepa Frempong/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana
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