Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has explained that the Trafigura judgment debt issue is not new, emphasizing that no recent judgment has been made against Ghana by a U.S. court.
This statement was made in response to reports that a District of Columbia Court had ordered the Ghanaian government to pay over $111 million, along with post-judgment interest, following a Motion of Judgment in favor of the Ghana Power Generation Company (GPGC).
During an appearance on Citi FM on Wednesday, August 21, 2024, Mr Dame clarified that , “This award was given way back in 2021, and the government since then has had the obligation to pay, and indeed they have been making efforts to pay.
“It is the failure to exhaust payment which has led to the company seeking enforcement orders in other jurisdictions. It is not the case where there has been a new judgment or a fresh award given by any court or any tribunal anywhere.”
He further dispelled the notion that a new judgment debt had been issued, stating, “The impression that is sought to be created by the publication that I have seen today—another judgment debt, a new judgment debt, US Court awards, 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.”
Meanwhile, a recent document from a U.S. District Court has uncovered a series of missteps by Ghana’s legal team, which ultimately prevented the country from contesting a $134 million judgment awarded to Trafigura by the English courts.
This case centers on a power purchase agreement between Trafigura’s subsidiary, GPGC, and the Ghanaian government. The agreement was unilaterally terminated by Ghana in 2018, prompting a legal dispute that led to a significant judgment against the country.
Despite a definitive ruling from a UK tribunal that ordered Ghana to pay $134,348,661, the government only made partial payments, leaving an outstanding balance of $111,493,828.92, with interest continuing to accrue.
Compounding the issue, Ghana failed to meet critical deadlines to appeal the UK judgment, further deepening the country’s financial obligations and complicating its legal standing in the matter.