AMA cited for contempt

Thursday, June 2, 2011 (Page 3 Lead)

THE Chief Executive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Dr Alfred Vanderpuije, and another person have been cited for contempt of court for allegedly flouting a court order which directed them not to pull down billboards belonging to the Advertisers Association of Ghana (AAG) until the final determination of a suit brought against the assembly by the AAG.
The AAG sued the AMA over the fixing of what the association termed exorbitant rates for billboards for 2010 and 2011 and in the course of the trial the court directed both parties not to take any steps to prejudice the outcome of the case until the final determination of the suit.
An application for contempt filed on behalf the AAG by its lawyer and which is praying the court to cite Dr Vanderpuije and a consultant of the AMA, Mr John Yankah, will be moved at the Accra Fast Track on June 7, 2011.
According to counsel for the AAG, Mr George Ankomah Mensah, the AMA had flouted the court’s order by vandalising billboards belonging to its clients.
Counsel also accused the AMA of bypassing the AAG and, in the process, threatening its clients that it (AMA) would pull down their billboards if they did not pay the new rates.
The new rates, according to the AAG, were between 400 and 750 per cent increment over previous ones.
Mr Mensah further argued that he had pictures to authenticate his claims, but the court drew his attention to the fact that the contempt application was currently not before him (trial judge).
Replying, counsel for the AMA, Mr Eddie Sam, denied his learned friend’s claims and said he was not aware of any such action by the AMA.
He advised counsel for the AAG to follow the due process of the law and file the necessary papers if he was of the view that the AMA had been in contempt of court.
The Presiding Judge, Mr Justice Dennis Adjei, a Court of Appeal judge with additional responsibility as a High Court judge, reiterated his call on both parties to respect the court’s decision.
Meanwhile, the court has granted leave to the AAG to serve the AMA with an application which sets out questions on whether or not the AMA was served with notice of intention before it was sued by the AAG.
The court gave the AMA 14 days to respond to the questions to pave the way for a a mini trial on June 21, 2011 to determine the veracity or otherwise of claims by the AMA that it was not served with notice of intention before it was sued.
The AMA claimed that the AAG failed to comply with Section 127 of the Local Government Act, 1993 (Act 462) which required the AAG to serve the AMA with notice of intent 30 days before filing the suit, but the AAG disputed the AMA’s claims and insisted it had served the assembly.
At its sitting on May 12, 2011, the trial judge intimated that following the claims from both parties, there was the need for the court to conduct a mini trial to resolve the issue of whether or not the AMA had been served with the notice of intent.
Evidence will be taken from witnesses to enable the court to arrive at the truth in the mini trial, which is mostly held in camera.
In the substantive suit, the AAG has accused the AMA of increasing the special rates on billboards by more than 400 per cent, effective 2010, without any consultation with the AAG.
It said the rates, which were published in a gazette notification of April 23, 2010, were “adversely affecting the business” of advertisers, were unlawful and must, therefore, be set aside.
A writ filed on behalf of the AAG by Ankomah Mensah and Associates, legal practitioners, is praying the court to also give an order of injunction restraining the AMA from removing, touching or altering the AAG's billboards or advertising signs until the final determination of the case.
It further requests the court to order that the excessive rates published by the assembly, even if lawful, amounted to an abuse and wrongful exercise of discretion, among others.