The Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Dominic Ayine, has sued JA Plant Pool and its Executive Chairman, Joseph Siaw Agyepong, seeking to recover an alleged excess payment of $2 million made under the government’s District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP).

In a writ of summons dated May 25, the Attorney General argued that the State paid the amount without receiving any corresponding equipment, service or consideration under the contract.

According to the suit, the DRIP initiative was introduced by the Government of Ghana to improve and maintain road infrastructure at the local level by supplying earth-moving equipment to Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies.

The Attorney General stated that the then Chief of Staff, Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, and former District Assemblies Common Fund Administrator, Irene Naa Torshie Addo, invited Mr Siaw Agyepong to the Office of the President to discuss the project.

The suit said government later opted for a single-source procurement arrangement and obtained approval from the Public Procurement Authority on January 10, 2024.

Court documents stated that on February 12, 2024, the Office of the President, the District Assemblies Common Fund and JA Plant Pool entered into an agreement for the supply of 2,420 units of earth-moving equipment.

The Attorney General said the contract sum was pegged at US$178,704,739.50.

However, the State claims a review of Schedule 1 of the contract, which contained the breakdown of equipment, quantities and unit prices, revealed an arithmetical discrepancy.

According to the writ, while the total stated at the bottom of the schedule was US$178,704,739.50, the actual sum of all listed items amounted to US$176,704,739.50.

The Attorney General argued that the contract figure was therefore overstated by exactly $2 million.

“The said sum of $2 million has no basis whatsoever within the four corners of the Contract,” the suit stated.

The State further argued that payment schedules under the agreement were calculated using the allegedly inflated figure, leading government to pay the full amount through the Ministry of Finance and OmniBSIC Bank.

According to the writ, the excess amount “was paid without any corresponding equipment, service, or other consideration moving from the 1st Defendant or the 2nd Defendant to the State.”

The Attorney General also contended that Mr Siaw Agyepong, who signed the contract on behalf of JA Plant Pool, “knew or ought reasonably to have known” about the discrepancy between the total contract figure and the actual arithmetic sum of the listed equipment.

The suit further alleged unjust enrichment against the defendants.

“The 1st Defendant and the 2nd Defendant nonetheless accepted, retained, and continue to retain the said sum of $2 million,” the writ stated.

Government said demands had already been made for the refund of the amount, but the defendants had allegedly failed or refused to repay the money.

The Attorney General is, therefore, asking the court to order JA Plant Pool and Mr Siaw Agyepong, jointly and severally, to refund the $2 million together with interest at the prevailing commercial rate until full payment is made.

The suit is also seeking any additional relief the court may deem appropriate.