State to pay K19mil in damages

By KARO JESSE
THE National Court has ruled that Education Department secretary Dr Uke Kombra and the State are liable for a K19 million claim of damages by Finance Corporation Ltd (Fincorp).
A total of K18,439,164.41 was awarded to Fincorp as claims for damages with accrued pre-judgement interest of K570,859.05
National Court Judge Thomas Anis last Tuesday ruled that Kombra breached a contract signed with Fincorp when he issued an internal circular instruction on Oct 11, 2018 – No. 6 of 2018 – instructing the department’s payroll section not to accept, input and effect any new pay deductions from financial loan companies until further notice.
Fincorp claimed that the instructions were in breach of terms of the contract between the parties.
Fincorp also pleaded for a contempt charge against Kombra, which it claimed was breached in the circular instruction, referring to existing court orders of April 2.
However, the court dismissed the alleged contempt charge.
The instructions in the internal circular abruptly halted specific performances of irrevocable salary/wages deduction form, irrevocable salary deduction authority form and employer acknowledgment.
Kombra, through the circular, claimed that the directions for not accepting input and effect any new pay deductions from financial loan companies was due to some very high incidents of teachers’ salary.
The court found that the circular was in breach of court order of April 2 and contract between the parties.
The court also found among other things that Kombra and the State authorised circular instructions had kept and or had held back loan applications of those employees whose loans had been approved by Fincorp, amounting to a breach of the court order of April 2.
The court further ordered for specific performances against Kombra and the State on Fincorp’s current and new payment variation advices.
Specific performances were ordered against Kombra and the State on each of the agreement entered into with Fincorp that were contained in Fincorp’s respective irrevocable salary/wages deduction forms, and irrevocable salary deduction authority forms and employer acknowledgment or any other similar loan deduction and authorities.
The court also ordered that an interest of K1,041.65 will accrue daily from the date of service of the certificate of the judgment until the date of full payment of the judgment if the defendants failed to settle the judgment sum.