… Shuns Court Order, Refuses To Release Monies As Insurance Cover
Reliable information gathered by spyghana?indicates that there have been attempts by the Attorney General’s Department to frustrate a Court Order requesting for the payment of an amount of GH?162,027.37 to victims of the Kyekyewere village motor accident on 18th August 1999 as insurance cover for the victims.
On date fateful day 18th August 1999, a Land Rover vehicle belonging to the Ghana Police Service with registration no. GP 760 run into an Urvan bus with registration number, GR 1289-Q in which the occupants were travelling from Accra to Kyebi in the Eastern Region? and another Nissan Pick-up with No. AS 1444-F, leading to the death of three passengers.
According to checks conducted by this paper, all the occupants on board of the Service vehicle and the Urvan bus sustained various degrees of injuries and were rushed to the Suhum and Nsawam government hospital for treatment.
The checks revealed that five of the victims including one Sgt. Emmanuel Opoku in the Service vehicle died on arrival at the hospital as well as three passengers who were on board the Urvan bus.
However, the case was brought before Justice F. M. Anyimiah a High Court Judge in Koforidua on 10th March 2010 who after careful study of the documents presented before the court directed that the Attorney General’s Department to approve the payment of GH?162,027.37 to the victims of the accident as insurance.
But notwithstanding the judgment and order given by the Court, the Attorney General’s Department, according to information, has since failed to approve the payment.
This paper has gathered that all attempts by the victims and their access the insurance cover as compensation through their lawyers from the AG’s Department has proved futile.
This development as a result of the lackadaisical attitude from the Attorney General Department towards the victims, preventing them from getting the monies to cover expenses they incur during the period of the accident, has led to a new writ filed in the High Court, in a Consolidated Suits of Nos. C99/2002, C578/2000, C292/2002, C661/2001 and C98/2002.
In the said writ, lawyers for, and on behalf of the Plaintiffs/Judgment Creditors/ Applicants have issued for a Garnishee Proceedings pursuant to order 47 rule (1) and (2) of CI 47, against the Governor of Bank of Ghana to pay the total sum of GH?162,027.37 as at 28th February 2013 to the Plaintiffs monies owed by the government.
The monies, according to lawyers for the victims, were represented in the instant suit by the Attorney General to be from any account controlled by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning for, and on behalf of government of Ghana, any account belonging to the Ghana Police Service under the Ministry of Finance or any account generally managed by the Governor of the Bank of Ghana which account belong to the Republic.
However, one good year after this summons, the Bank of Ghana has also failed to go by the order.
Information received by this paper indicates that the Attorney General Departments is frustrating BoG’s move to pay as the A-G has constantly refused to endorse documents granting the release of the money to the victims.
