Court dismisses injunction against digital TV migration

Ghana’s bid to migrate from analogue to digital terrestrial television (DTT), has been given a boost by the Commercial Court in Accra.

The court, on Monday morning, gave the Ministry of Communication the nod to begin processes to appoint a contractor to migrate Ghana from analogue to digital terrestrial television by June 2015.
It followed the dismissal of an order for interlocutory injunction against the project by a Chinese firm.
In a terse ruling, the court, presided over by Mr Justice George K. Koomson, said “the application for interlocutory injunction has been refused. Reasons to be given on March 16, 2015.”
Deputy Ministers of Communication and Justice, Mr Ato Sarpong and Dr Dominic Ayine, left the courtroom elated.
In an interview with journalists after the court’s decision, Mr Sarpong, said the ministry could now proceed to evaluate tenders documents from 17 companies.
He gave the assurance that Accra and Kumasi would migrate to DTT by June 17, 2015 while other parts of the country would be connected by December 2015.
According to him, some steps had been taken in the past to facilitate Ghana’s migration.
ayine sarpong
The Court Case
Star Communication Network Technology Company Limited of China, sued the Ministry of Communications through the Attorney-General over the abrogation of an April 11, 2012 contract for the supply and installation of a reliable energy-efficient and cost-effective Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) Network Solution.
The Ministry of Communication denied any wrongdoing and explained that it abrogated the contract after the plaintiff had made false representations, as well as failed to meet its part of a contractual arrangement to pre-finance the project and be reimbursed within a 10-year period.
An affidavit in opposition to the plaintiff’s motion for interlocutory injunction stated that the ministry acted within the confines of the law before abrogating the contract and for that reason, the plaintiff’s application must be dismissed.
In addition, the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA) joined forces with the Ministry of Communications and prayed the court not to entertain the suit because any delay in Ghana’s bid to migrate to DTT would have a negative impact on its members.

Case of plaintiff

According to a statement of claim accompanying the writ of summons, the plaintiff met all contractual obligations but the government delayed in working on the necessary documents to warrant the Exim Bank of China to release money for the financing of the project.
It said the MoC was also required to procure Cabinet and Parliamentary approvals for the concessional loan, the execution of the loan agreements as well as for the notification of the supplier of the award but it failed to fulfil the said conditions apart from the notification of the award.
According to the statement, the MoC wrote a letter dated November 17, 2014, intimating the ministry’s intention to disengage itself if the financing agreement – i.e. the concessional loan, was not received in the next 11 days, that was November 28, 2014.
It said as an assignee of the contract, all the plaintiff was required to do to assist the grant of the loan was to facilitate the process of accessing the concessional loan by using its best efforts, which it had done.
“It was the duty of the Ministry of Communications to process the said loan application on schedule and with full knowledge of its obligation that it obtained all approvals had failed in the discharge of those obligations.
“However, to the utter surprise of the plaintiff, by a letter dated January 14, 2015, the Minister of Communications again wrote to the plaintiff now terminating the agreement dated April 11, 2012, purporting to do so by virtue of Article 41.1 of the General Conditions of Contract contained therein which stated that the purchaser could terminate for its convenience,” it said.
It further averred that to further advance its agenda, the ministry on January 29, 2015 put up an advertisement in the Daily Graphic newspaper “advertising the project which plaintiff had been contracted to execute under the agreement dated April 11, 2015 and which was unlawfully terminated by the minister through no fault of the plaintiff and has by the said advertisement, evinced a clear intention to award the contract to another entity”.

Reliefs 

The plaintiff is praying the court to declare that the purported termination of the contract was unlawful.
It is also asking for an order reversing the purported termination of the said agreement, as well as an order of perpetual injunction to restrain the ministry and its agents from interfering with the April 11, 2012 contract”.

Ministry’s position

In its affidavit in opposition, the defendant averred that aside the plaintiff’s obligation to fully fund the project it also informed the defendant “it was capable of assisting the government to obtain a concessionary loan facility from the China Exim Bank, based upon which the contract was awarded StarTimes Ghana after all due processes have been followed”.
“The main reason why the contract was awarded to StarTimes Ghana was because of its proposal to the MoC indicating its capacity to facilitate the necessary funding for the project through concessionary loan arrangement from the China Exim Bank,” the affidavit in opposition noted.
It further explained that because StarTimes Ghana was a local entity and could not access the concessionary loan for the project, the Ministry of Finance was not in a position to submit any formal application to China Exim Bank for a concessionary facility in respect of an agreement entered into with a locally registered entity.
The affidavit said thus StartTimes Ghana within three months assigned its rights to Star Communications Network Technology Company Limited (now plaintiff in the case) and following from that the Ministry of Finance carried out the necessary due diligence and formally submitted the application for the concessionary loan on December 21, 2012.
It said the response from the China Exim Bank to the Ministry of Finance’s application “came by way of a letter dated January 27, 2014, months after the ministry had dispatched the application for the concessionary loan to the China Exim Bank”.

Back and forth

It said the ministry received another letter dated June 25, 2014 from the China Exim Bank seeking further clarifications on Ghana’s application, adding that “contrary to our understanding and the basis for StarTimes Ghana winning the contract, it became evident that a lot of information and documentation was required and the Ministry of Finance had to follow its usual process to compile, verify and ensure their accuracy before submitting same to the China Exim Bank”.
The affidavit averred that after formal trips to China, back and forth correspondence and due diligence carried out by the defendant, it became abundantly clear that the plaintiff was not in a position to pre-finance the project.
It said it also became clear the plaintiff had made false representations with regard to its claim that it had procured letters of intent from the China Exim Bank.

GIBA’s Position

Meanwhile, the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA) has filed an affidavit in opposition to the motion for interlocutory injunction asking the court not to allow the plaintiff “to fetter the progress of the digital migration programme since in any case the court is allowed to grant them damages for the worth of their work pursuant to the cancellation of the contract”.
“That as the beneficiaries of the contract, we have reviewed same and concluded that the contact did not contain any clause restricting the defendant from terminating the contract but rather a clause that states that the defendant could terminate the contract at any time for any reason,” an affidavit in opposition sworn on behalf of GIBA by its President, Mr Akwasi Agyeman, pointed out.
The affidavit in opposition said the entire membership of GIBA and the media industry in Ghana would suffer untold hardship should the project be further stalled.
According to the affidavit in opposition, Ghana was required to migrate to DTT by June 2015 per the international agreements binding the players in the industry.

Plant Breeders Rights Bill and food security

Mrs Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong (hands raised), the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, touring an eggplant farm (greenhouse) at The Hague.

The world is said to be losing 25 to 33 per cent of the food it produces – nearly four billion metric tonnes, according to environmentalists.  Poor storage facilities and distribution networks are largely to blame for such glut. With the world’s population expected to hit nine billion by 2050, demand for food would shoot up by 60 per cent or more.

United Nation’s Hunger agency has predicted political turmoil, social unrest, civil war and increased terrorist activities in the next few decades if food production is not increased by 60 per cent or more.

Food is a basic necessity, which must be accessible by all but that is not the case in most parts of Africa and Asia – where hunger and malnutrition among children are rife. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that 842 million in the world remain malnourished, with nearly a third of them living in the Asia-Pacific. It also estimates that one in four children under age five is stunted as a result of malnutrition.

There are growing demands for food and other crops but the pace of research into food production is slow.

Ghana and food production

Ghana is blessed with vast arable lands but not much investment has been made in the agricultural sector. It is an annual affair to read reports of food crops and vegetables going waste as a result of poor storage facilities and poor road networks to cart food supplies from the farms to market centres. 

Ghana’s neighbour, Burkina Faso, supplies Ghana’s market with fresh tomatoes and onions. Tomato varieties from that country are preferred over Ghana’s, which are usually referred to as “local tomatoes.” The tomato variety from Burkina Faso is much more expensive than the local tomatoes because it tastes nicer and has a longer shelf life than the local tomatoes. That brings to the fore the issue of plant varieties.

Plant Varieties

I was part of a team that followed the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mrs Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong, who led the Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional and Legislative Drafting to the Hague to understudy how Plant Breeders Rights (PBR) had been implemented in The Netherlands. The horticultural and seed propagating industry contributes more than nine  billion Euros to the Netherlands’ economy on an annual basis.

The Netherlands is a leading provider of improved seed varieties to almost all parts of the world. It is a thriving industry, which has invested time, energy, research and resources into ensuring food security for its citizens and the other nationals across the world. It boasts of having the largest floral auction in the world where hundreds of florists meet daily to purchase fresh flowers for export to other countries. The floral auction alone accrues an annual 4.5 billion euros.

Controversy

What then has Ghana got to do with plant varieties and plant breeders rights? Ghana has currently drafted a bill on plant breeders rights and it is awaiting parliamentary approval. The bill, when passed into law, would give creators of plant varieties legal protection and thus block commercial farmers from harvesting, preserving and re-using the seeds. In the Netherlands, for instance, it is illegal to re-use varieties for whatever purpose.

The law makes it mandatory for farmers to purchase seeds every year. The Agricultural Sovereignty Ghana (FSG), the Peasant Farmers Association and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have opposed the PBB on the grounds that it would throw small-scale farmers out of business. Others have maintained improved seeds contained poisonous substances that could negatively affect consumers when introduced in Ghana. Supporters of the bill, however, are of the view that protecting creators of the new plant varieties would promote food sustainability as more plant breeders would be encouraged to come up with more improved varieties.

Issues

As I write, fresh tomatoes, onions and many food crops from Burkina Faso and other countries are preferred over locally produced ones on the grounds that they last longer and taste better. Research into agriculture to improve food security is virtually non-existent. Meanwhile, Ghana’s population is increasing by the day. How long will Ghana toe the path of peasant farming? How long will Ghana produce and get half of its products going waste in the farms because of poor transportation and poor variety? I recently witnessed how investment in agriculture in the Netherlands rakes in billions of euros on an annual basis for that country. Flowers are not edible products but they rake in more than five billion euros annually. 

Ghana’s population keeps rising, thereby making it necessary for food production to be improved. The world’s climate and taste of consumers are evolving. The Netherlands and other developed countries have invested heavily in food research and are reaping the benefits today. While in that country, I  managed to procure a book titled ‘’Framework for the Introduction of Plant Breeder’s Rights – Guidance for Practical Implementation,’’ authored by A.J.P Wijk and N. P. Louwaars. The 207-page book details plant breeders rights and how those rights have been implemented for the benefit of all stakeholders.

It is unfortunate the issue of plant breeders rights has still not been resolved in Ghana. There are concerns on seeds that would be harnessed when the Bill is passed into law. 

The Netherlands has surmounted all those challenges and it is key for Ghana to adopt pragmatic measures to resolve all concerns raised by critics. The Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the Attorney-General’s Department, Parliament and critics must resolve all issues pertaining to the PBB and come out with a resolution that would eventually propel Ghana’s agriculture to the next level. Picketing, levelling unwarranted allegations and counter-accusations are certainly not the way to go. The future of Ghana’s food security lies in the hands of all.

Supreme Court to decide on religious freedom

The constitutionality or otherwise of Muslim students joining their Christian counterparts for religious activities has landed at the Supreme Court

Another matter before the court is the constitutionality or otherwise of offering prayers at state functions. There is a raging debate and growing

tension over whether or not Muslim students are bound by school rules and regulations including attending morning devotion.

To put the matter to rest, a Ghanaian, Gershon Nii Lampcey, is invoking the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to stop the government, educational and other institutions from forcing their Christian faith on other faiths.

The plaintiff has, through the Attorney- General, sued all government agencies practising what he deems as an affront to minority groups rights to freedom of association as enshrined in the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.

Perpetual injunction

A statement of claim, accompanying the writ, filed on behalf of the plaintiff by his lawyer, Mr Justin Pwavra, is asking the court to issue an "order of perpetual injunction restraining the Republic of Ghana, its arms of government, ministries, departments, agencies, etc, and any private body or institution for that matter from condoning or forcing directly and constructively students of other faiths to attend or participate in partisan and sectional religious activities, such as Sunday worship or morning devotion, against their will and/or the tenets of their faiths."

It is seeking a further "order of perpetual injunction restraining the Republic of Ghana, departments and agencies from sanctioning and endorsing partisan religious activities or offering preferential treatment to some religions during state events or activities when such treatment is not accorded all other religions in Ghana, particularly Islam and African Traditional Religion, on an equal footing"

The plaintiff is also urging the court to declare that upon a true and proper interpretation of the letter and spirit of the Constitution, particularly, articles 17,21(1)(b)(c), 35(1)(5)(6), 37(l) and/or 56 of the constitution, the Republic of Ghana is a secular Republic and recognizes no official or state religion and shall at all times maintain by itself, its organs of government, ministries, agancies and departments, a posture of religious neutrality or balance in its dealings with all faiths.

Additional reliefs

Other reliefs being sought by the plaintiff include a declaration that upon a true and proper interpretation of articles 17 and 33(5) the concept of minority rights, particularly, a minority's right to non-discrimination and special measures to protect its identity constitute part and parcel of the fundamental human rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution.

Another prayer of the plaintiff is "a declaration that all schools in Ghana, whether private, public or state-sponsored (except religious schools set up primarily to train students as ministers, etc, of particular religions) have an obligation to recognise, respect and give effect to the right of freedom of conscience, belief and religion guaranteed under articles 21(lXbXc) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana by not forcing students of other faiths to attend or participate in partisan and sectional religious activities, such as Sunday worship or morning devotion, against their will and/or the tenets of their faiths."

Alternative reliefs

According to the plaintiff, in the unlikely event that the compulsory attendance of partisan religious activities or events by all students regardless of their faith was upheld by the court, the court should declare that pursuant to articles 17, 21(l)(b)(c), 35(l)(5)(6)(a) and/or 37(1) of the Constitution, the State has an obligation to provide equal support to all faith-based institutions whether Christian, Muslim or African Traditional Religion whether or not these institutions seek to promote their religious identity and faiths through their mission schools.

The other alternative declaration being sought by the plaintiff is an order to the effect that pursuant to articles l7, 21(l)(b)(c), 35(1)(5)(6)(a) and/or 37(1) of the 1992 Constitution, "the State has an obligation to reverse historical imbalance in the funding of mission schools by devoting more resources to fund under-privileged mission schools particularly those belonging to the Islamic faith and African Traditional Religion ,if any."

Ghana/Cote d'Ivoire maritime boundary dispute; Legal arguments to begin March 29

Attorney General, Marietta Brew Oppong

Preliminary legal arguments between Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire on disputed maritime boundaries would begin at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) on March 29, 2015.

The two countries are expected to continue their arguments on March 30, 2015 on whether or not all activities should be suspended on the disputed maritime boundary.

ITLOS would then fix a date for ruling on the matter.

The date for the legal arguments was arrived at after the parties had a conference call with the Special Chamber of ITLOS, which is based in Hamburg, Germany.

Thus, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mrs Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong will lead a legal team to battle out the provisional issues with the Ivorian side on the slated days.

Ghana, on February 27, 2015, received a copy of a formal application from Cote d’Ivoire, which is asking the Special Chamber of ITLOS to order Ghana to suspend all activities in the disputed areas.

The activities include fishing and exploration of oil.

A major project to be affected should Cote d’Ivoire’s application be upheld, is the exploration and exploitation works on the Tweneboah-Enyera-Ntoumme (TEN) project being operated by Tullow Oil Plc and its partners.

Such suspension, Cote d’Ivoire has argued, should remain in force until the tribunal delivers its final decision on the Ghana-Cote d’Ivoire maritime boundary dispute currently pending before the court.

Ghana opposes 

But Ghana is arguing that Cote d’Ivoire has not set out any solid legal foundation to warrant the suspension of activities at the disputed areas.

“We are prepared to legally battle it out with our neighbours. We have a strong case which is grounded on international law, and we believe the tribunal would uphold our submissions,” Mrs Appiah-Opong disclosed this to the Daily Graphic in Accra Wednesday.

She said the parties had a meeting with the Chairman of the Special Chamber in Hamburg, Germany, on February 18, 2015 to set out timelines for dealing with the entire case.

Background

Cote d’Ivoire staked a claim to parts of Ghana’s offshore a year after Ghana discovered oil in commercial quantities in June 2007.

Following failed bilateral talks between the two countries in the past year, Ghana decided to turn to ITLOS under the rules set out by the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS) to protect the country’s interest and that of oil companies who have invested millions of dollars in the exploration of oil at some of the disputed areas.

Stalemate

In the meantime, the President of ITLOS has appointed three judges to join two others to assist in determining the maritime boundary dispute between the two countries.

Cote d’Ivoire fights Ghana over TEN oil project. But A-G says Ghana has strong case

Mrs Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong — Attorney-General and Minister of Justice

Ghana has received a copy of a formal application from Cote d’Ivoire which is asking the Special Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) to order Ghana to suspend all activities in the disputed areas.

The activities include fishing and exploration of oil.

A major project to be affected should Cote d’Ivoire’s application be upheld, is the exploration and exploitation works on the Tweneboah-Enyera-Ntoumme (TEN) project.

Such suspension, Cote d’Ivoire has aruged, should remain in force until the tribunal delivers its final decision on the Ghana-Cote d’Ivoire maritime boundary dispute currently pending before the court.

With such an application before the tribunal, all is set for the two countries to move into full legal battle over their maritime boundary.

In an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mrs Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong, said the parties had a meeting with the Chairman of the Special Chamber in Hamburg, Germany, on February 18, 2015 to set out timelines for dealing with the entire case.

She explained that the application for provisional measures by Cote d’Ivoire would be opposed by Ghana, adding, “We have a very strong case and we intend to put up a strong opposition to that application. We are confident in the merits of our case and we believe it is grounded in international law and strongly believe that Ghana will prevail.”

According to her, the Special Chamber would probably rule on the application for provisional measures before the end of April 2015.

“On February 27, 2015, we received the application and we are preparing to oppose it,” she said.

The Special Chamber of the ITLOS is yet to fix a time for oral hearings of the application for provisional measures.

“Ghana has always been alert to this because Cote d’Ivoire had last year issued threats to stop us from working in the area and we are more than prepared to resist this application,” Mrs Appiah-Opong said.

Timetable out

She said the ITLOS had set out a timetable for the parties to deal with the entire case:

* September 4, 2015 — Ghana to file a written memorial (detailed statement of claim).

* April 4, 2016 — Cote d’Ivoire to file counter memorial (detailed defence).

* July 4, 2016 — Ghana to file reply to Cote d’Ivoire’s counter memorial.

* October 4, 2016 — Cote d’Ivoire to file rejoinder. 

* February 2017 will be for the oral hearings.

Tullow press release

Meanwhile, a press release from Tullow Oil (plc) said, “Tullow's advice from external counsel is that Ghana has a strong case under international law that the current boundary location, which follows an equidistance line, will be upheld by ITLOS in accordance with the Law of the Sea Convention, to which both states are party. Work on the TEN project continues and remains on schedule and on budget for first oil in mid-2016.”

The Chief Executive Officer of Tullow Oil, Mr Aidan Heavey, said: “Tullow has long had interests in and strong relationships with both Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire and we have conducted our operations in both countries in line with our obligations as a contractor under our petroleum agreements and in accordance with international operating standards. 

“Although the arbitration process allows for an application of provisional measures, it is our view that it is in the best interest of all parties that the TEN project continues to move ahead without delay and unencumbered by legal tactics of this nature.” 

Fisherman floors EC; As Supreme Court stops March 3 district-level elections

Mr Benjamin Eyi Mensah (left) and his layer, Mr Alexander Afenyo-Markin, after the court decision

The District-level elections slated for March 3, 2015 has been put on hold. This followed a unanimous decision by the Supreme Court to stop the Electoral Commission (EC) from proceeding with the conduct of the poll.

The seven-member panel, presided over by Mr Justice William Atuguba also directed the EC to start afresh, the processes for the opening and picking up of nomination forms.

On Thursday, February 26, 2015, the court directed the EC to stop advertisements on the polls until the final determination of the matter.

It is also expected to accept nomination forms from candidates who had earlier been rejected for presenting their forms late. The EC would have to come out with a new date for the conduct of the poll.

However, prospective candidates can continue campaigning while they await new directives and timelines from the EC.

Other members of the panel were: Ms Justices Sophia Akuffo, Mr Justice Julius Ansah, Mr Justice Jones Dotse, Mr Justice Anin Yeboah, Mr Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie and Mr Justice N. S. Gbadegbe.

Illusive law

Upholding a writ which sought to invoke its original jurisdiction on the constitutionality or otherwise of the barring of the plaintiff, Benjamin Eyi Mensah, from standing for elections, the court said the law the EC sought to rely on to justify its disqualification of the applicant was non-existent.

Lawyers for the EC had sought to rely on Constitutional Instrument 78 (C.I. 78) to back its decision not to accept the plaintiff’s nomination forms on the grounds that he had filed it out of time.

But the lawyer for the plaintiff, Mr Alexander Afenyo-Markin, dragged the Attorney-General and the Electoral Commission (EC) to the Supreme Court on the grounds that his client had been illegally disqualified from contesting the election as an assembly member.

Reading the court’s terse decision on behalf of his colleagues, Mr Justice Atuguba said the EC’s reliance on C.I. 78 was “illusive” because such law was not listed in the EC’s manual.

The court admitted that it was mandatory for the EC to hold district-level elections under Article 45 and 51 of the 1992 Constitution, but held that the law which the EC sought to rely on did not exist.

It said there was no parliamentary record showing that the EC had gone under a matured C.I. to warrant the holding of the polls.

Based on those grounds, the court said it was only proper for the EC to be ordered to start the process “afresh”.

Declarations sought and granted

Mr Afenyo-Markin had prayed the court to declare that on a true and proper interpretation of Article 51 of the 1992 Constitution, a Constitutional Instrument to demarcate the boundaries for both the national and local government elections comes into force only after the expiration of 21 sitting days after it has been laid before Parliament and that Constitutional Instrument 85 (C.I. 85) only comes into force after Parliament has passed same.

Another relief sought was that upon a true and proper interpretation of Article 51 of the 1992 Constitution, the court should declare as unconstitutional, the opening and closing of nominations for district-level elections because there was no existing Constitutional Instrument empowering the EC to receive nominations.

It said the court should also rule that the opening and closing of nominations for district-level elections by the EC when the Constitutional Instrument empowering it to do so had been laid before Parliament for consideration was an usurpation of the Constitutional mandate of Parliament as enshrined in Article 106 of the 1992 Constitution.

The applicant also urged the court to declare that the opening and closing of nominations by the EC when C. I. 85 was still pending before Parliament for consideration was an affront to the dignity of Parliament conferred on it by Article 122 of the 1992 Constitution.

Further reliefs

The plaintiff had also prayed the court to declare that the opening and closing of nominations by the EC on Sunday, December 21, 2014, when C. I. 85 was not in force was an infringement on the right of the plaintiff to contest in the local elections after having met all the preconditions to be registered as a candidate and awaiting the passage of C. I. 85 before filing his nomination forms.

Another relief sought by the plaintiff, who is a fisherman, also pleaded with the court to declare that the nomination forms received and the filing of same by the EC for the purposes of the district-level  elections prior to the coming into force of the C.I. 85 was unconstitutional and of no legal effect.

Mr Mensah, who was in court and looked excited after the court’s decision, had also implored the court to order the EC to open nominations to enable him and other law-abiding citizens who were awaiting the passage of C. I. 85 to file their nominations to participate in the upcoming district-level  elections.

Grounds of suit

According to the plaintiff’s statement of case, he (plaintiff) was a fisherman seeking to contest the upcoming district-level elections at Eyipeh Electoral Area of the Effutu Municipality in the Central Region.

It said the plaintiff picked nomination forms, filed them and obtained tax clearance certificate while awaiting the C.I. 85, “the enabling law governing the demarcation of electoral boundaries to be considered by Parliament as provided for under Article 51 of the 1992 Constitution.”

After observing the expiration of the 21 days period as provided for by law, the plaintiff proceeded to submit his forms to the EC on December 22, 2014 but was informed that nominations closed on Sunday, December 21, 2014.

His nomination forms were accordingly rejected but the statement of case has argued that the EC’s action was unconstitutional because the plaintiff had acted in consonance with law.

It held that the EC opened and closed nominations before the 21-day-sitting of Parliament adding that there was no existing law that enabled the EC to open and close nominations in the first place.

According to Mr Mensah, the enabling instrument could only come into force after 21 sitting days of Parliament and not before.

Rights of others infringed upon

The plaintiff further argued that the rights of other prospective law-abiding candidates who waited patiently for the 21 days sitting period to elapse before submitting their nomination forms had been infringed upon.

According to the plaintiff, the EC “in grabbing authority that does not belong to it ignored the all-important constitution and adopted some strange administrative procedures to open and close nominations.

By so doing, the EC immediately curtailed the right of the plaintiff to contest in the district-level elections.”

Constitutional Instrument

Arguing the case for his client, Mr Afenyo-Markin held that C.I. 85 was gazetted and laid before parliament on November 21, 2014 and for that reason, it could only come into force on December 22, 2014.

He, therefore, found it surprising for the EC to opt to close nominations a day before C. I. 85 could take legal effect and stated that the EC did not have a concurrent mandate with parliament to deliberate on orders, rules and regulations or any other law and pass same.

Counsel also held that the EC did not have the mandate to take administrative decisions that manifestly undermined the authority of parliament.

Mr Afenyo-Markin accordingly prayed the Supreme Court to frown on the action of the EC, declare it as null and void and also allow the plaintiff and other prospective candidates to file their nominations to contest the upcoming district assembly elections.

Arguments upheld

After three consecutive days of deliberations, the court yesterday upheld Mr Afenyo-Markin’s submissions and accordingly blocked the EC from proceeding with its plans to conduct district assembly and unit committee elections on March 3, 2015.

Mr Afenyo-Markin thanked the court for its decision and in an interview with journalists, he said the court’s pronouncement was a clear indication of the independence and fairness of Ghana’s judiciary.

The plaintiff told journalists he was happy about the court’s decision because he would now have the opportunity to contest in the elections.

EC’s reaction 

In a press release issued and signed by Ms. Georgina Opoku Amankwaa, Deputy Chairperson shortly after the decision, the EC said “with regard to the maturity of C.I. 85, the District Level Elections and all activities connected with them had been suspended forthwith until further notice.”

‘I was surprised cheques were paid to Assibit’

Mr. Abuga Pele

An Accounts Officer attached to the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA) office yesterday told the Financial Division of the High Court that he processed six different cheques totalling GH¢4.1 million for payment to two entities and an individual.

Mr Eric Sunu, a staff member of the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD), told the court that he processed the cheques for payment to the Management Development and Productivity Institute (MDPI) and Goodwill International Group (GIG) after his bosses had given their approval.
He was testifying as the fourth prosecution witness in the GH¢4.1 million GYEEDA trial, in which a former National Co-ordinator of the agency, Abuga Pele, and a representative of the GIG, Philip Akpeena Assibit, are facing various charges of causing financial loss of GH¢4.1 million to the state.
Mr Sunu gave a breakdown of the payment as follows: May 10, 2011 – GH¢826,153.64; December 12, 2011 – GH¢804,000; February 14, 2012 – GH¢760,500; May 14, 201 2 – GH¢451,957.44; May 16, 2012, GH¢451,957.45 and September 10, 2012 – GH¢835,000.
The witness explained that five of the cheques were issued in the name of MDPI/GIG, while the sixth cheque for GH¢835,000 was issued in the name of Assibit for conducting tracer studies.
Led by a Principal State Attorney, Ms Comfort Tasiameh to give his evidence-in-chief at the court’s sitting in Accra, the witness said he was queried during investigations as to why payments were made to Mr Assibit’s personal account.
He expressed surprise at the turn of events and told investigators the cheques were issued in the name of MDPI/GIG.

Pele’s threshold

The witness said he and Mr Pele signed the cheques after the then Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Clement Humado, had given approval for payment.
He explained that Mr Pele could not sign a cheque worth more than GH¢20,000 without seeking approval from the minister.
Mr Sunu said Mr Assibit usually picked up the cheques on behalf of the MDPI/GIG after they had been issued.
According to the witness, the memos attached to invoices submitted by MDPI/GIG instructed that the money should be paid to MDPI, but Mr Assibit later explained the work had been performed by MDPI/GIG.
He said after the clarification, the ministry reverted and said the work had been performed by the two bodies resulting in the issuance of the cheques in their names.
The witness has since been discharged. Hearing continues on March 11, 2015.

Battle over digital migration

Ghana’s bid to migrate from analogue to digital terrestrial television (DTT) broadcasting in June, this year, may suffer a setback, if a lawsuit filed at the Commercial Court in Accra against it should succeed.

Star Communication Network Technology Company Limited of China has sued the Ministry of Communications through the Attorney-General over the abrogation of an April 11, 2012 contract for the supply and installation of a reliable energy-efficient and cost-effective Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) Network Solution.
But the MoC has denied any wrongdoing and explained that it abrogated the contract after the plaintiff had made false representations, as well as failed to meet its part of a contractual arrangement to pre-finance the project and be reimbursed within a 10-year period.
An affidavit in opposition to the plaintiff’s motion for interlocutory injunction has stated that the ministry acted within the confines of the law before abrogating the contract and for that reason, the plaintiff’s application must be dismissed.
In addition, the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA) has joined forces with the Ministry of Communications and is praying the court not to entertain the suit because any delay in Ghana’s bid to migrate to DTT would have a negative impact on its members.
Meanwhile, the Commercial Court in Accra, presided over by Mr Justice George Kingsley Koomson, will on March 9, 2015 rule on whether or not to restrain the ministry from recruiting a new contractor for the project until the final determination of the instant action.

Case of plaintiff

According to a statement of claim accompanying the writ of summons, the plaintiff met all contractual obligations but the government delayed in working on the necessary documents to warrant the Exim Bank of China to release money for the financing of the project.
It said the MoC was also required to procure Cabinet and Parliamentary approvals for the concessional loan, the execution of the loan agreements as well as for the notification of the supplier of the award but it failed to fulfil the said conditions apart from the notification of the award.
According to the statement, the MoC wrote a letter dated November 17, 2014, intimating the ministry’s intention to disengage itself if the financing agreement – i.e. the concessional loan, was not received in the next 11 days, that was November 28, 2014.
It said as an assignee of the contract, all the plaintiff was required to do to assist the grant of the loan was to facilitate the process of accessing the concessional loan by using its best efforts, which it had done.
“It was the duty of the Ministry of Communications to process the said loan application on schedule and with full knowledge of its obligation that it obtained all approvals had failed in the discharge of those obligations.
“However, to the utter surprise of the plaintiff, by a letter dated January 14, 2015, the Minister of Communications again wrote to the plaintiff now terminating the agreement dated April 11, 2012, purporting to do so by virtue of Article 41.1 of the General Conditions of Contract contained therein which stated that the purchaser could terminate for its convenience,” it said.
It further averred that to further advance its agenda, the ministry on January 29, 2015 put up an advertisement in the Daily Graphic newspaper “advertising the project which plaintiff had been contracted to execute under the agreement dated April 11, 2015 and which was unlawfully terminated by the minister through no fault of the plaintiff and has by the said advertisement, evinced a clear intention to award the contract to another entity”.

Reliefs 

The plaintiff is praying the court to declare that the purported termination of the contract was unlawful.
It is also asking for an order reversing the purported termination of the said agreement, as well as an order of perpetual injunction to restrain the ministry and its agents from interfering with the April 11, 2012 contract”.

Ministry’s position

In its affidavit in opposition, the defendant averred that aside the plaintiff’s obligation to fully fund the project it also informed the defendant “it was capable of assisting the government to obtain a concessionary loan facility from the China Exim Bank, based upon which the contract was awarded StarTimes Ghana after all due processes have been followed”.
“The main reason why the contract was awarded to StarTimes Ghana was because of its proposal to the MoC indicating its capacity to facilitate the necessary funding for the project through concessionary loan arrangement from the China Exim Bank,” the affidavit in opposition noted.
It further explained that because StarTimes Ghana was a local entity and could not access the concessionary loan for the project, the Ministry of Finance was not in a position to submit any formal application to China Exim Bank for a concessionary facility in respect of an agreement entered into with a locally registered entity.
The affidavit said thus StartTimes Ghana within three months assigned its rights to Star Communications Network Technology Company Limited (now plaintiff in the case) and following from that the Ministry of Finance carried out the necessary due diligence and formally submitted the application for the concessionary loan on December 21, 2012.
It said the response from the China Exim Bank to the Ministry of Finance’s application “came by way of a letter dated January 27, 2014, months after the ministry had dispatched the application for the concessionary loan to the China Exim Bank”.

Back and forth

It said the ministry received another letter dated June 25, 2014 from the China Exim Bank seeking further clarifications on Ghana’s application, adding that “contrary to our understanding and the basis for StarTimes Ghana winning the contract, it became evident that a lot of information and documentation was required and the Ministry of Finance had to follow its usual process to compile, verify and ensure their accuracy before submitting same to the China Exim Bank”.
The affidavit averred that after formal trips to China, back and forth correspondence and due diligence carried out by the defendant, it became abundantly clear that the plaintiff was not in a position to pre-finance the project.
It said it also became clear the plaintiff had made false representations with regard to its claim that it had procured letters of intent from the China Exim Bank.

GIBA’s Position

Meanwhile, the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA) has filed an affidavit in opposition to the motion for interlocutory injunction asking the court not to allow the plaintiff “to fetter the progress of the digital migration programme since in any case the court is allowed to grant them damages for the worth of their work pursuant to the cancellation of the contract”.
“That as the beneficiaries of the contract, we have reviewed same and concluded that the contact did not contain any clause restricting the defendant from terminating the contract but rather a clause that states that the defendant could terminate the contract at any time for any reason,” an affidavit in opposition sworn on behalf of GIBA by its President, Mr Akwasi Agyeman, pointed out.
The affidavit in opposition said the entire membership of GIBA and the media industry in Ghana would suffer untold hardship should the project be further stalled.
According to the affidavit in opposition, Ghana was required to migrate to DTT by June 2015 per the international agreements binding the players in the industry.

Rot at MASLOC ; Operations director diverts GH¢1m to 2 financial firms

A GH¢1,055,582 fraud has been uncovered at the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC).

An acting Director of Operations of the scheme, Ken Kwaku Boadi Asare, is alleged to have forged 102 non-existing business associations to advance GH¢1,055,582 to two financial institutions.
The suspect, who is currently on interdiction, is alleged to have acted in connivance with some regional officers of MASLOC to perpetrate the crime.
Investigators of the Economic and Organised Crimes Office (EOCO) have since concluded investigations into the matter.
The docket on the case is being finalised for onward submission to the Attorney-General’s Department for advice, a highly placed source at EOCO told the Daily Graphic in an interview.

False representation

The final report on investigations into the issue, a copy of which is available to the Daily Graphic, indicates that nine people, including Asare, were interviewed during investigations into the matter.
It said Rhokida Micro-Finance Limited and Unicorn Happy Investment Limited approached MASLOC for a loan facility for onward lending by their microfinance companies.
“Mr Asare made false representations to the loans committee at MASLOC which he chairs and caused to be issued in the names of the groups he suggested.
“In all, a total of 102 cheques, with a face value of GHc1,055,582, were issued as follows: Rhokida Micro-Finance Limited – 70 cheques – GH¢737,247; Unicorn Happy Investments Limited – 32 cheques - GHc318,335,” it said.
According to the report, the figure was less processing fee and interest and for that reason the bank statement put the total figure at GHc1,037,260.
Those transactions took place between October 2012 and September 2013.

Findings

The report further indicated that Asare allegedly informed the two microfinance companies that MASLOC had stopped granting loans to micro-finance companies and was now dealing with groups.
It said Asare then instructed his subordinates in Takoradi, Koforidua and Amasaman to open files for the groups he listed for repayment to be effected.
According to the report, repayment of the loan amount was effected through Asare’s personal account at the Airport City branch of Stanbic Bank.

14 cheques not recorded

Findings of the investigations also revealed that out of the 32 cheques issued to Unicorn Happy Investment, 14 were not reported in MASLOC’s financial report.
Unicorn has since repaid its debt to MASLOC, but Rhokida Micro-Finance Limited has an outstanding debt of GH¢304,733.64.
Asare, through whose account the loan repayments were made to MASLOC, has an outstanding balance of GH¢346,685, while GH¢80,000 he is alleged to have advanced to an officer of MASLOC is yet to be retrieved.
A list of 14 cheques found in Unicorn’s bank statements but not found in MASLOC’s report, as well as a list of 21 cheques in MASLOC’s report but not found in Rhokida’s accounts, has been attached to the final investigative report.

Weak controls

Investigators observed that MASLOC’s internal control system was very weak and suggested that it “must be strengthened in order to identify risk-prone areas in both assessing and repayment of loans advanced to clients”.
MASLOC’s record keeping system was also found to be ineffective, thereby making it difficult to trace loan processing documents of beneficiaries for future reference and auditing purposes.
Investigators also observed that too much power had been vested in the schedule of the director of operations and, therefore, recommended the decentralisation of the roles to avoid future abuse.

BNI recovers GH¢15m from indicted NSS officials

Alhaji Imoro is currently standing trial at the Financial Division of the High Court

The Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) has made a major breakthrough in its investigations into the scandal at the National Service Scheme (NSS) with the recovery if GH¢15 million.

So far, 171 individuals, including the former Executive Director of the NSS, Alhaji Imoro Alhassan, have been implicated in the scandal.
Some of the implicated directors have entered into an agreement with the BNI and are currently refunding the money, which is part of the amounts paid to 30,816 non-existent national service persons from September 2013 to August 2014.
Information gathered by the Daily Graphic which first broke the scandal in October last year, indicated that the fraud was perpetuated through mandatory, voluntary and overpayment of returns.
The breakdown shows that 29,358 ghost names were generated for the mandatory scheme, while 853 and 605 names were generated for the voluntary and overpayment returns respectively.

Breakdown

BNI sources have declined to give out the names of the directors who are refunding the amounts, in their bid not to breach the agreement between the BNI and the directors.
“We are focusing on retrieving the money and that is exactly what we are achieving. It is important the state recoup all the embezzled funds,” a BNI source told the Daily Graphic in an exclusive interview in Accra at the weekend.
Regional and district directors of the NSS have a total liability of GH¢49 million, while directors at the NSS headquarters are liable to refund GH¢31.1 million.
While assuring Ghanaians of the resolve of the BNI to retrieve all lost funds to the state, the source said, “We are still recouping the money and we urge Ghanaians to be patient and allow us to do our work diligently.”
“Trust us to protect the public purse,” it said.

NSS boss charged

Alhaji Imoro is currently standing trial at the Financial Division of the High Court and has pleaded not guilty of the charge of stealing GH¢86.9 million.
He has been granted bail in the sum of GH¢90 million, with three sureties, all to be justified, with property valued at more than one million Ghana cedis.
He is to reappear in court on March 12, 2015

Sissala NSS director paid GH¢75,000 before committing suicide

Lambert Akansar

The Sissala District Director of the National Service Scheme (NSS), who committed suicide while investigations were ongoing into the role he played in the GH¢80 million scandal, paid GH¢75,000 back to the state before taking his life.

Lambert Akansar was found to have embezzled GH¢221,780 but he managed to refund GH¢75,000 to investigators of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) before he committed suicide by hanging in early January, 2015.
Snippets of information gathered by the Daily Graphic indicate that Akansar faced challenges recouping the money he had given out as loans to individuals in Suhum and Sissala areas.
It was said that some of the individuals who borrowed the money refused to pay him  when he went round pleading with them to repay him.

Have you committed suicide before?

Sources told the Daily Graphic, which first broke the story in October 2014, that Akansar, who was the former Suhum District Director of the NSS, asked some persons close to him if they had attempted suicide before.
They found his question strange but it never crossed their minds that he would take his own life.

Investigations so far

So far, 171 individuals including the Executive Director of the NSS, Alhaji Imoro Alhassan, have been implicated in the scandal.
The offence, which was committed from September 2013 to August 2014, resulted in the loss of GH¢80 million to the state.
A total of 30,816 ghost names were generated during the period.
It also emerged that the fraud was perpetuated through the mandatory, voluntary and overpayment return accounts of the NSS.
The breakdown shows a total of 29,358 ghost names were generated for the mandatory scheme, while 853 and 605 ghost names were generated for the voluntary and overpayment returns respectively.
Sources at the BNI have urged the public to trust that the bureau would conduct an effective investigation.

NSS boss charged

Alhaji Alhassan and 22 other directors of the NSS were alleged to have paid GH¢200,000 as bribe to investigators of BNI to conceal the financial rot.
The money is currently in the custody of the BNI as an exhibit.
Alhaji Alhassan is standing trial at the Financial Division of the High Court and has pleaded not guilty to the charge of stealing GH¢86.9 million.
He has been granted bail in the sum of GH¢90 million with three sureties, all to be justified, with property valued at more than one GH¢1 million.

Case against Woyome adjourned sine die

Alfred Woyome

Hearing of the Attorney-General’s application to enforce a Supreme Court judgement which ordered businessman Alfred Agbesi Woyome to refund GHC51.2 million to the state has been adjourned sine die.

The adjournment is to enable bailiffs to serve hearing notices on Woyome and Waterville Holdings. They were both absent in court when the matter was called yesterday.
Lawyers for Woyome and Waterville were also absent, but the Attorney-General’s Department was represented by Ms Helen Ziwu and Mrs Stella Badu, both Chief State Attorneys.
Meanwhile, information gathered by the Daily Graphic indicates that lawyers for Woyome and Waterville Holdings have written to the Supreme Court indicating they had not been instructed by their clients to represent them in this particular case.
According to them, their services ended on June 14, 2013 and July 29, 2014. It is not clear whether or not they would formally be contracted by their clients to continue the case when a date is fixed for hearing.
 The case was first adjourned on February 4, 2015 to yesterday, February 10, 2015 but it emerged that bailiffs were unable to serve Woyome and Waterville with the hearing notices.

Background

The Supreme Court on July 29, 2014, ordered Woyome to refund GH¢51.2 million to the state on the grounds that he got the money out of unconstitutional and invalid contracts between the state and Waterville Holdings Limited in 2006 for the construction of stadia for CAN 2008.
It held in a unanimous decision that the contracts upon which Woyome made and received the claim were in contravention of Article 181 (5) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, which requires such contracts to be laid before and approved by Parliament.
The 11-member court, presided over by the Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, was ruling on a review application filed by a former Attorney- General and Minister of Justice, Mr Martin Amidu.
Other members of the panel were: Justices Julius Ansah, Sophia Adinyira, Rose Owusu, Jones Dotse, Anin Yeboah, Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, N. S. Gbadegbe, Vida Akoto Bamfo, A. A. Bennin and J.B. Akamba.

June 14, 2013 judgement

The court had on June 14, 2013 directed the international construction firm, Waterville Holdings Limited (BVI), to refund all the money paid to it by the Ghana government on the premise that it had no valid and constitutional contractual agreement with the government.
Waterville was expected to refund 25 million euros it received from the government, following the court’s judgement that the said contract it entered into with the government for stadia construction for CAN 2008 was unconstitutional.
That was because it had contravened Article 181 (5) of the 1992 Constitution, which requires such contracts to go to Parliament for approval.

Review

According to the applicant who filed the application for review on July 12, 2013, he, together with other like-minded Ghanaians, had read the two judgements delivered by the Supreme Court very carefully and had come to the conclusion that some aspects of the judgement contained “exceptional circumstances that have resulted in what we perceive may constitute a miscarriage of justice.”

Contract null and void

In the Waterville judgement, the court declared as null and void and of no operative effect a contract titled: “Contract for the Rehabilitation (Design, Construction, Fixtures, Fittings and Equipment) of a 40,000 Seating Capacity Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi, Ghana,” entered into between the Republic of Ghana and Waterville Holdings Limited (BVI) of P.O. Box 3444, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands on April 26, 2006.

The review decision

Reversing aspects of the court’s June 2013 judgement on behalf of her colleagues, Mrs Justice Wood said the conduct of the then Attorney-General and Minister of Justice in paying or ordering the payment of money to Austro Invest for a “purported” financial engineering which arose out of an April 26, 2006 agreement was, therefore, unconstitutional. Austro-Invest was contracted by Woyome to syndicate funding for the grant of a 1.1 billion euro facility but was paid off by Woyome.

Proceedings at High Court void

The court further declared as null and void and of no legal effect, proceedings at the High Court (Commercial Division) that entertained a suit brought against the state by Woyome on April 19, 2010.
It also held that the conduct of Woyome and Austro-Invest in making claims and receiving payment on two “in-operative agreements” which were international businesses and had not received parliamentary approval was also illegal.
Meanwhile, the criminal case instituted against Woyome by the state has been adjourned to March 12, 2015 for judgement.

Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire maritime dispute: ITLOS assists in selection of arbitrators

Mrs Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong — Attorney-General and Minister of Justice

Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire had to resort to the President of the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), to select three arbitrators to settle their maritime boundary dispute in oil-rich fields after they reached a stalemate on the selection.

Both countries were by the rules of ITLOS, required to appoint an arbiter each and mutually select three more arbitrators to deliberate and decide on their maritime boundary dispute but they could not reach an agreement.
As a result of the deadlock, the President of ITLOS, who is also a sitting judge at the International Court of Justice, in December 2014 assisted the two countries to select three judges of the ITLOS  to determine the issues at stake.
The ITLOS is based in Hamburg, Germany.
“In December 2014, we went before the President of the ITLOS to appoint three more arbitrators. We spent the whole of December 3 and most of December 4, 2014 trying to come to some agreement, and finally we did,” the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mrs Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong, said in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday.
She explained that the selected personalities were not just arbiters but also judges of the ITLOS.

Arbitrators for the parties

Meanwhile, Ghana has appointed Mr Justice Thomas Mensah, a former President of the ITLOS, as a member of the tribunal, in accordance with Article 3(a) of Annex VII.
Cote d’Ivoire, for its part, has appointed Ronny Abraham from France as an arbiter.
Per the rules of the ITLOS, the two arbiters selected by the parties are expected to act impartially.
According to Mrs Appiah-Opong, the next item was for the parties to meet to set out a timetable and procedures to be followed before the commencement of hearing.
“We are going before the tribunal next week to set a procedural timetable to agree on issues regarding procedure and conduct of proceedings in the case. That meeting will take place in a day,” she said.

Special Chamber

She disclosed that the parties would meet in a special chamber at the ITLOS because “all the persons selected are also judges within the tribunal and court system”.
The matter is expected to last a maximum of three years.
She said Ghana had a solid legal and technical team, adding, “We are committed to conducting this case as professionally as possible to ensure that Ghana succeeds at the end of the day.”
Mrs Appiah-Opong will be leading the team.

Background

After 10 failed negotiation attempts, Ghana, in September 2014, began arbitration proceedings at the ITLOS.
“Despite several years of good faith negotiations, including at least 10 rounds of bilateral meetings, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire have been unable to agree upon the location of their maritime boundary,” Mrs Appiah-Opong announced at a press conference in Accra on September 23, 2014.
Cote d’Ivoire staked a claim to parts of Ghana’s offshore a year after Ghana had discovered oil in commercial quantities.
Following failed bilateral talks between the two countries in the past year, Ghana decided to turn to the ITLOS under the rules set out by the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS) to protect the country’s interest and that of oil companies which had invested millions of dollars in the exploration of oil at some of the disputed areas.

Ghanaian delegation in The Netherlands to seek support for plant breeders rights

The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mrs Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong, is leading some members of the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee of Parliament to The Netherlands to learn about that country’s success in the implementation of the Plant Breeders Rights which has boosted its agricultural sector.

In a meeting with the Dutch Minister of Justice and Security, Mr Ivo Opstelten, Mrs Appiah-Opong entreated the Dutch government to assist Ghana to establish its seed registry when the Plant Breeders Bill was passed into law.

Plant Breeders Bill

She said the purpose of the bill was to establish a legal framework to protect the rights of breeders of new varieties of plants or plant groupings and promote the breeding of new varieties of plants aimed at improving the quantity, quality and cost of food, fuel, fibre and raw materials for industry.
The bill, which is currently before Parliament, seeks to acknowledge the achievements of breeders of new varieties by making available to them exclusive rights on the basis of a set of uniform and clearly defined principles.
Mrs Appiah-Opong added that the bill would promote the growth of the seed industry and safeguard the legal right and interest of plant breeders.
Furthermore, it sought to regulate the production, offer for sale, sale, marketing and advertisement of new varieties.
She talked about the laws that had been passed in Ghana since 2008 and said key among them were the Electronic Communications Act, the Electronic Transfer Act, the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) Act and the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism Act.

Benefits

Mr Opstelten indicated how the implementation of the Plant Breeders Rights in The Netherlands had brought about more improved yields and made his country one of the leading exporters of vegetables and ornamentals.
He said Ghana’s adoption of the Plant Breeders Bill would tremendously improve its agricultural yield, while the intellectual rights of plant breeders in Ghana would be protected.

Cyber crime

Mr Opstelten urged Ghana to ratify the Budapest Convention on cyber crime, saying, “When ratified, there is a lot that Ghana can achieve in working with other countries in the fight against cyber crime.”

Silver Star CEO sentenced to 21 days imprisonment for contempt

 

Kalmoni Nouhad, CEO of Silver Star

The Commercial Court in Accra today sentenced the Chief Executive Officer of Silver Star Auto Limited to 21 days imprisonment for contempt.

Kalmoni Nouhad was convicted on December 1, 2014 after his company failed to obey the court’s orders to deliver a brand-new Mercedes Benz to a plaintiff on July 10, 2014. The court however, deferred its sentencing and reasons to today.

The court, presided over by Mr Justice G. Koomson, held that the convict woefully failed to obey the court’s order after he had given an undertaken to obey the court’s directives. But the convict is not in prison because his lawyer, Kizito Beyuo, filed a notice of appeal immediately after the court’s decision.

Rule 27 of the Court of Appeal Rules states that there will be an automatic stay of execution of the conviction, for seven days.

Background to the case

The plaintiff, G. A. Sarpong & Co instituted civil action against Silver Star Limited in 2009 after the Plaintiff purchased a brand new Mercedes benz car which ended up being defective.

The High Court, which heard the matter ordered the automobile company to replace the vehicle because it fell within the warranty period but the company appealed.

Silver Star Limited’s appeal succeeded in part because the Court of Appeal ordered it to replace the defective vehicle’s engine.

According to the Court of Appeal, the plaintiff was entitled to the replacement of the engine and not the entire vehicle.

Dissatisfied with the court’s decision, G. A. Sarpong and Co went to the Supreme Court and succeeded in overturning the Court of Appeal’s decision.

The highest court of the land, in January 2014, held that the plaintiff was entitled to a replacement of the defective vehicle for a brand new one.

Enforcement

Counsel for the plaintiff, Mr Joseph Opoku Boateng, filed the necessary legal documents at the High Court and sought to enforce the Supreme Court’s decision.

Per the rules of court, the plaintiff went back to the High Court to enforce the judgment of the Supreme Court.

The plaintiff applied for an order of delivery and the court ordered that the vehicle should be delivered within 14 days. 

However, the defendant defaulted and was, thus convicted on December 1, 2014 and sentencing deferred to December 22, 2014.