KMA’s Judgment Indebtedness Woes Deepen

The Osborn Ventures, a waste Management company in Kumasi and plaintiff/judgment creditor/applicant has started the process of execution of a directive of the Kumasi High Court (Commercial Division) for the payment of a judgment debt.

The action was as a result an application on notice for leave to that effect.

At a sitting on December 22, 2016, the Court presided over by His Lordship Justice Kofi Akrowiah granted leave to the plaintiff/judgment creditor/applicant to go into execution after 20 days from the day of its ruling.

The court ordered that a quarter of the amount to the plaintiff/judgment creditor/applicant contrary to the previous ruling by the court that half of the judgment debt be paid by the defendant into Court and half be paid to the plaintiff judgment creditor pending the determination of the appeal.

In granting leave, the Court took into consideration the situation at KMA and to enable it (court) regulate the execution process.

Madam Juliana Osei Bonsu of Osborn Ventures, has since 2013 instituted an action for the payment of the amount and other monies in pursuant to an agreement entered into by the two parties.

The plaintiff is also seeking interest on the sum from January 2007 to date of the final payment at the prevailing bank rate as well as general damages for unlawful termination of plaintiff's contract with the defendant.

In June, 2015, a Kumasi High Court (Commercial Division) gave judgment to the effect that the KMA should pay an amount of GHc249,188.40 representing five months of subsidies from January to May 2008 and a monthly sum of GHc33,051.31 for the period from January to October 2008.

The KMA was also to pay interest on the total sum as prayed in addition to GHc800,000 general damages as well as a cost of GHc50,000.00.

On July 12, 2016, in upholding the application for stay of execution, the court ordered that half of the judgment debt be paid by the defendant into Court and half be paid to the plaintiff as defendant judgment debtor pending the determination of the appeal.

The grant of leave for the plaintiff/judgment creditor/applicant Osbon Ventures comes at the heels of other leave by a Kumasi High last Monday to Freko F. D. Enterprise to attach three buildings belong to the KMA for a judgment debt of millions of cedis.

The grant of leave would enable Freko Enterprise to sell KMA properties to defray its judgment debt.

Last year, Freko Enterprise obtained a similar ruling to attach three KMA vehicles but had to go for more immovable properties because the amount from the sale of the vehicles was not sufficient to defray the cost of GHc4.3 million owed Freko Enterprise.

The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly has appealed to the government for an urgent financial support and legal assistance to deal with GH¢50.2 million judgment debt and 49 court cases

claiming the Assembly has been saddled with a total judgment debt of GH¢50.5 million thus distracting the Assembly from effectively carrying out its mandate and damaging its image.

Court orders are said to have taken a chunk of the Assembly's financial resources from almost all its bank accounts evidenced in the fact that between 2015 and July 2016, KMA paid GH¢976,120.62 to Sapso Construction Ltd purported to have constructed market stalls in 1994 but the cost of the project was not paid for by the KMA at the time.

It is also said that GH¢258,897 was paid to Freko FD Enterprise Ltd and other waste management companies for sanitation services provided between 2007 and 2012.

From Sebastian R. Freiku, Kumasi