'Reinstate interdicted Principal Accountant'

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 (Page 3 Lead)

THE Accra Fast Track High Court on Monday, November 23, 2009 ordered the reinstatement of the interdicted Principal Accountant of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Mr Adim Odoom.
It also ordered the Head of the Civil Service to pay Mr Odoom’s salary arrears from the time of his interdiction to date.
The court also directed that the National Security Report which implicated Mr Odoom should be forwarded to the Civil Service Council for the necessary action.
Mr Odoom was interdicted and ordered to proceed on leave on July 7, 2009 after National Security had investigated his allegations of financial impropriety against Alhaji Muntaka Mubarak, the then Minister of Youth and Sports.
Dissatisfied with the outcome of investigations and his subsequent interdiction, Mr Odoom filed the application for judicial review challenging his interdiction.
Giving the court’s ruling on the application, the presiding judge, Mrs Justice Norvisi Aryene, was of the view that "the President acted unlawfully when he directed the Head of the Civil Service to interdict the applicant. The President’s decision to interdict the applicant is hereby quashed".
The court was of the view that due process had not been followed and, therefore, Mr Odoom’s interdiction was a violation of the relevant laws and disciplinary regulations of the Civil Service of Ghana.
The court awarded costs of GH¢1,000 against the Attorney-General’s Department.
Counsel for the applicant, Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame, had prayed for GH¢5,000 costs but the court awarded GH¢1,000.
In an affidavit in support of his application for judicial review, Mr Odoom stated that he had only been called as a witness before the committee instituted to investigate Alhaji Mubarak and not as an accused person.
According to the applicant, the respondents acted illegally, unreasonably, capriciously, arbitrarily and in an unfair manner.
The A-G’s Office opposed the application and described it as “premature” and said a five-member panel had been set up since July 10, 2009 to begin hearing the applicant’s case, with the object of determining his guilt or otherwise but the panel had not begun sitting in view of the present court action.
In a related development, the Chief Director of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Mr Albert Anthony Ampong, is also seeking a declaration that an order directed at him (Mr Ampong) to refund $20,000 and a further order that sanctions must be applied against him are unlawful.
The Accra Fast Track High Court has since heard Mr Ampong's application and has fixed Friday, November 27, 2009 as the day to decide the lawfulness or otherwise of his interdiction.