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Mr Justice Yaw Appau, Sole Commissioner of the Judgment Debt Commission, has accused the Attorney General�s Department of giving in easily to the settlement of judgment debts, rather than pursuing the cases in court. He noted that sometimes the Department does not even defend the cases in court, thereby allowing the courts to slap huge sums of money as judgment debt compensation payments in favour of plaintiffs, �and this must stop�. He said the practice had helped to drain the coffers of the state and denying it the opportunity to provide important development projects to the benefit of the people. Mr Justice Appau made the accusation when a representative of the Attorney General�s Department appeared before the Commission in Accra on Wednesday in an accident case involving the Ghana Police Service and Messrs Pryce Leveson Company Limited. He said he did not understand why the Attorney General�s Department made recommendation to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to effect payment of GH�399,485.86 as judgment debt compensation to Messrs Pryce Leveson Company Limited in an accident case that there were many question marks. Mr Justice Appau also blamed the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning for not querying some of the judgment debts compensation payments before going ahead to effect payments to the plaintiffs. �In all of these, it is the nation and its people that suffer,� he said. Mrs Stella Badu, Principal State Attorney, said on September 6, 2008, Police General Sergeant Williams Kwadwo Ampong, got involved in an accident at Amanfron on Nkwakwa �Kumasi Highway. The bus, he was driving veered off the main road and collided with vehicles parked near the shoulder of the road, belonging to Messrs Pryce Leveson Company. Mr Paul Osei who was onboard vehicle number GW9113Z was injured. Messrs Pryce Leveson Company Limited took the case to court. Mr Justice Appau said: �There is nowhere in the report that says the trucks are damaged beyond economic repairs. It is only when a vehicle is damaged beyond economic repairs that you are asked to pay for replacement.� The Commissioner asked whether after paying for the replacements of the vehicles, the state took ownership of the damaged bus and the answer was no. He said a Henan Pre-Heater Mix was on top of the one of the vehicles involved in the accident and nowhere in the report indicated that it was damaged. �If you have queried this case, if the Attorney General�s Department had done diligent work, the state would not have paid fully for the debt,� Mr Justice Appau said.