March 3, 2011 (Page 3 Lead)
HEARING of the case brought against the National Security Co-ordinator and the Attorney-General by 88 former operatives of the National Security Council over the non-payment of their end-of-service benefits has been fixed for March 16, 2011.
The High Court in Accra has, accordingly, directed the plaintiffs to serve the defendants with the necessary documents by the next adjourned date to enable hearing into the case to commence.
Counsel for the defendants, Nana Ato Dadzie, informed the court at its sitting in Accra yesterday that he had noticed that the plaintiffs had applied for application for direction on the issues to be set out for trial but the defendants had not received a copy of that application, as well as a copy of the plaintiffs’ response to his clients’ statement of defence.
He told the court that much as the defendants were committed to an expeditious trial, it was important for due process to be followed, saying that it was the duty of the plaintiffs to ensure that the defendants were duly served with the relevant documents.
The trial judge, Mr Justice E. F. Dzakpasu, accordingly directed the plaintiffs, whose lawyer was absent, to serve the defendants with the relevant documents to pave the way for a speedy trial.
In the substantive matter, the plaintiffs, who served during the previous administration, said their appointment was terminated because they were perceived to be political appointees, but the defendants had stated that the appointment of the plaintiffs was terminated because their services were no longer required and not because they were perceived as political appointees of the previous administration.
In a writ of summons accompanying the statement of claim, the plaintiffs are praying the High Court to declare that they (plaintiffs) were entitled to be paid their end-of-service benefits upon the termination of their appointment, in consonance with conditions governing their employment.
The writ of summons, titled Kenneth Gyan Kesse and 87 others versus the National Security Co-ordinator and the Attorney-General, is also praying the court to order the defendants to pay the plaintiffs their end-of-service benefits.
The statement said all the plaintiffs were Ghanaian citizens and were fully employed as regular staff of the National Security Council Secretariat in Accra and across the country.
It said all the plaintiffs were interviewed, examined and employed under the Securities and Intelligence Agencies Law of 1996.
It further stated that following the 2008 general election, which led to a change in the political administration of the country, their appointment was subsequently terminated and, in partial fulfilment of the conditions governing the termination of appointment, each of them was paid three months' salary.
According to the statement of claim, the plaintiffs petitioned the National Security Co-ordinator for the payment of their end-of-service benefits but the petition was ignored.
It said they then, through their solicitors, wrote letters claiming the payment of their end-of-service benefits but those letters also yielded no results.
It claimed it was obvious that until the court intervened, the defendants had no intention of meeting their demands.
The defendants admitted that the plaintiffs were paid three months' salary in lieu of notice of termination, adding that the said amount represented the full payment due plaintiffs in case of disengagement between the NSC and the plaintiffs.
They said the plaintiffs were not entitled to any end-of-service benefits, as alleged to be in their conditions of service.
The statement of defence further pointed out that the National Security Co-ordinator was not the proper person to be sued in the matter.
The defendants said they would, at the hearing, raise a preliminary legal point that the National Security Co-ordinator was not the proper person or body to be sued in the matter and would pray that the National Security Co-ordinator’s name be struck off the writ.
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