Ex-Ministers given 7 days to pay, or...

An Accra High Court on Wednesday ordered the former Ministers who took home cars as part of their End-of-Service Benefits (ESB) to pay within seven days, the difference between the valuation as supplied to the court by the Attorney General and what they have actually paid, or surrender the vehicles to the Registrar of the High Court.

The court, presided over by Mrs Justice Georgina Woode, however said that if the Attorney General was not able to prove, in the course of the matter, that the valuation supplied to it (the court) was the original value, it would give out the cars or the difference paid back to the plaintiffs.

The court has adjourned to March 8.

Nineteen former ministers last month filed a writ at the High Court praying it to set aside an order by President J.A. Kufuor directing them to either pay the difference between the price paid and the official valuation or return the cars.

But Mr Mike Afedi Gizo, former Minister of Tourism, who was reported to be among the 19, has withdrawn from the case and paid the difference in amount of the valuation of his car.