The legal storm surrounding the alleged US$2 million overpayment and financial irregularities in the District Roads Improvement Programme (DRIP) contract has intensified, with the Attorney-General (A-G) and Minister for Justice, Dr. Dominic Ayine, announcing he is prepared to use the courts to enforce accountability.
Dr. Ayine’s defiance comes in direct response to a comprehensive rebuttal issued by the contracting firm, J.A. Plant Pool (JAPP) Limited, which dismissed the AG’s claims of overpayment, tax evasion, and over-invoicing as “unfortunate”.
JAPP had earlier issued a detailed statement in an attempt to clear its name, particularly addressing the contentious issue of the alleged overpayment.
The company attributed the entire reported US$2 million excess payment to a simple clerical error in official documentation.
JAPP asserted that the executed contract sum was significantly higher than the figure cited in the AG’s allegations, claiming the correct value was US$178,704,739.50, not the lower US$176 million figure mentioned by Dr. Ayine.
The firm argued that the AG was presenting a “partial narrative” that could cause irreparable damage to its reputation.
The company further rejected all other claims:
- Tax Evasion: JAPP stated that all imports related to the DRIP contract were properly declared to the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and processed through government-approved bonded warehouses, thus dismissing any assertion of tax evasion.
- Over-Invoicing: The firm maintained that the contract prices were the result of a competitively negotiated process and represented genuine value for money for the state.
Despite JAPP’s public defence, Dr. Ayine remains resolute.
Speaking in an interview on Friday, October 24, the Attorney General reaffirmed his initial position, stating his office possesses conclusive evidence of the financial breaches.
“We have investigated and we have the evidence. If they [JA Plant Pool] are making that claim, we’ll come out with the truth,” Dr. Ayine declared.
The Minister for Justice emphasised that he is ready to take the battle to the Judicial Service to retrieve any funds deemed to have been improperly paid or embezzled, signalling a major legal confrontation.
“What I said, I stand by, and if they want to challenge it, they can do so. If they are not conforming to the demand that I have made, I have the courts to help me to do so,” he warned.
The standoff places both the A-G’s investigative findings and JAPP’s financial records under intense public scrutiny, with the looming threat of a high-profile civil suit set to determine the ultimate truth behind the multi-million-dollar road improvement contract.
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