Ghana sues Cote d'Ivoire over maritime boundary

Ghana has initiated arbitration proceedings under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), seeking a declaration that it has not encroached on Cote d’Ivoire’s territorial waters in the exploration of oil.

The decision follows failed negotiations between the two countries in the past few years, as well as continued receipt of threatening letters from Cote d’Ivoire by oil companies operating in the disputed area.

In order to avoid a diplomatic spat, Ghana has since served Cote d’Ivoire with a notification of arbitration, in accordance with the provisions of UNCLOS.  

Ghana filed its suit based on Article 287 Annex VII of the 1982 UNCLOS.

A highly placed source close to the case told the Daily Graphic that a statement of claim accompanying the notification had also been served on Cote d’Ivoire.

The statement of claim avers, among other things, that pursuant to articles 286 and 287 of the 1982 UNCLOS, and in accordance with Article 1 Annex 1, the Republic of Ghana had served notice to the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire to the effect that “having failed to reach a settlement after successive negotiations and exchange of views over an extended period of time, Ghana has elected to submit the dispute concerning the determination of each maritime boundary with Cote d’Ivoire to the arbitral procedure provided for under Annex VII of UNCLOS”.

The source said the issue bordered on Ghana’s commercial interest and those of the companies operating on the oil block.

“These are companies with shares on the stock exchange and it is important the country’s interest and theirs are protected,” it added.

Legal Team

According to the source, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mrs Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong, would lead Ghana’s legal delegation to the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) after the necessary legal documents had been filed and served on parties in the dispute.

She will be backed by her attorneys and an arbitrator with vast experience in international maritime issues.

Under the rules of the ITLOS, Cote d’Ivoire is also expected to appoint an arbitrator, while both countries are expected to jointly choose the three remaining arbitrators.

“All we are doing is to protect our oil companies who have given contracts and to protect the interest of Ghana. This is not a fight between Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire and must not be seen as such,” the source added.

Background

Ghana discovered oil in commercial quantities offshore the Western Region in June 2007, but the Ivorian authorities have been laying claim to the discovery.

The dispute received wide media attention in the past, resulting in leaders from both countries engaging in talks to resolve their differences.

And to compound the issue, oil companies operating in the oilfields have been receiving threatening letters from Cote d’Ivoire asking them to leave site. 

Press Conference

When contacted, the Minister of Communications, Dr Edward Omane-Boamah, disclosed that the Attorney-General  would hold a press conference on the issue today, September 23, 2014, but declined to comment further.

Court to determine owner of money paid by UT Bank

 March 14, 2014 (Page 55)

The Financial Division of the Fast Track High Court has decided to take both oral and documentary evidence to determine the actual owner of  the $391,250 which has been paid into the coffers of the Judicial Service by UT Bank.

State institutions owe GOIL GH¢20m

 

Key state institutions owe the Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL) more than GH¢20 million in debts accrued from the consumption of petroleum products.

The oil company is also faced with liquidity challenges as a result of the depreciation of the cedi against the major currencies, which has resulted in huge losses.

Another issue confronting the company, which has been licensed to operate as a bulk oil distribution company (BDC), in addition to the existing 23 BDCs, is the difficulty in raising enough foreign exchange to import finished petroleum products to meet increasing demand by consumers.

These setbacks have resulted in the shortage of petroleum products at some GOIL fuel dumps in the capital.
The Managing Director of the company, Mr Patrick A. K. Akorli, who made this known in an interview with the Daily Graphic, however, declined to mention the names of the said state institutions.

“We operate as a state institution and it is our mandate to serve state bodies at all times. We also wish to state that the government is doing all it can to settle its indebtedness to us,” he explained.

Fuel shortage
Touching on the shortage of petroleum products at some GOIL fuel dumps, Mr Akorli said, “The reality is that we sell below the ex-pump price. We are recording losses and until fuel prices are adjusted, we will continue to make losses.”
“Despite these challenges, GOIL, in partnership with the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST) Company Limited and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), is working around the clock to ensure that enough petroleum products are supplied to the market before the beginning of next week,” he added.
He said the situation would normalise in a week or two.
“We are making arrangements with BOST and the GNPC to bring more products to the market to meet the demands of consumers,” Mr Akorli added.
GOIL licence
He said GOIL was putting in place the necessary logistics to enable it to lift oil in bulk quantities in the next few weeks.

“We are building more storage depots and fuel dumps across the country and have rebranded to position GOIL in a way that will make it more profitable. We are solid on the ground and we wish to assure Ghanaians that GOIL will be a force to reckon with in the coming months,” he pointed out.

He added that GOIL and its partners were committed to guaranteeing continued uninterrupted supply of petroleum products to the market.
Crisis
The petroleum downstream industry is currently facing liquidity crisis, as the credit lines of most oil marketing companies (OMCs) have been cut due to a GH¢1 billion debt they owe the BDCs.
At present, the government owes the BDCs GH¢1.3 billion and an audit is being carried into the debt.

Ministry of Energy holds meeting on 450 MW power project

A meeting to start the project for the provision of two power barges with total capacity of 450 Megawatts was held among stakeholders on the premises of the Ministry of Energy in Accra yesterday.

The meeting tackled all outstanding issues that would pave the way for the arrival of the two emergency power barges before the end of 2015.

Issues handled included acquisition of all licences, permits and approvals from relevant authorities, technical and contractual commercial agreements, among others.

It also spelt out the roles and responsibilities of the key stakeholders, as well as discussed the project implementation schedule and other project management issues.

The power barges are expected to augment electricity supply to all parts of the country.

The Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Mr Emmanuel Kofi-Armah Buah, led the meeting,  which comprised officials from Karpower International (the company constructing the power ship), the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo)  and the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC).

Officials from the Volta River Authority (VRA), the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Energy Commission, the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), the Ghana Maritime Authority, the Ministry of Transport and the Ghana Navy also attended the meeting.

Power target

In a brief remark, Mr Buah said the government was committed to ensuring that Ghana met its 5,000 MW capacity in 2016.

He said Ghana’s energy demands were increasing and for that reason the government was stepping up efforts to meet those demands.

Mr Buah indicated that Ghana was poised to produce 300 million cubic metres of gas in the next 20 years.

He was particularly happy with the progress of work on the power barges and added that “the people of Ghana deserve to have constant and uninterrupted power supply and we are poised on delivering on that”.

The acting Chief Director of the Ministry of Energy, Mr Solomon Asoalla, said the ministry was embarking on several options to make sure Ghana got enough power for domestic and international consumption.

Karpower International representative

The Regional Director of Karpower International in charge of Africa and Asia, Mr Patrick O’Driscoll, said the company was working diligently with all the key stakeholders to complete the project on schedule.

Answering questions from journalists, Mr O’Driscoll said Karpower would bear the cost of constructing the power ships and sell the electricity to Ghanaians.

He said the company would have an initial engagement with the government for 10 years. 

Background

As a strategic measure to ameliorate the power generation deficit caused by reduction in thermal generation due to low gas supplies and equipment unavailability, the government has contracted Karadeniz Power Group/Karpower of Turkey, a renowned global power ship manufacturing company, to manufacture two emergency power ships.

Under the arrangement, Karpower International Ltd is expected to pay for the full cost of the power ships and operate them in Ghana as an independent power producer (IPP) in Ghana to augment the country’s power generation capacity.

The power ship has a dual-fuel (heavy fuel oil or natural gas) engine technology to ensure complete fuel flexibility. 

Its design encompasses a combined cycle operation which would ensure that the highest efficiencies are achieved in order to deliver maximum MW output. 

The two would be strategically located in Tema and Takoradi for immediate deployment, to provide emergency continuous electricity in the country.

After a number of technical and commercial due diligence meetings and negotiations in Turkey and in Ghana early this year, works have commenced on this project and currently in advanced stages following the construction of the first 225MW power ship.

Other critical activities such as marine and civil works for the location of the ship, construction of power transmission corridors and incoming substation are ongoing.

It would have taken three to four years to put up a power plant but this project would take less than 16 months to complete.

Oil companies debt of GH¢1bn cause petrol shortage at pumps

The credit lines of most oil marketing companies (OMCs) have been cut as a result of a GH¢1billion debt they owe bulk oil distribution companies (BDCs).

The OMCs were in the past given a 30-day grace period to sell and pay for the petroleum products they lifted from the storage depots of the BDCs, but majority of the OMCs have, in the past, abused the credit line by not paying back on time.

Therefore, the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBOD) has, with effect from September 2014, decided to implement a “cash-and-carry” system to save its members from plunging further into liquidity crisis.

At present, the government owes the BDCs GH¢1.3 billion. 

An audit is being carried out into the debt.

Explaining the rationale for the CBOD decision to the Daily Graphic, its Chief Executive Officer, Mr Senyo Hosi, said only a few credit-worthy OMCs existed and intimated that on a larger scale “it is cash and carry”.

We are restructuring 

“We are restructuring our business model in ways that will improve needed liquidity to sustain supplies to the market and ultimately enable us to serve consumers as required of us,” he pointed out.

He explained that the current liquidity challenge facing the BDCs was as a result of a general indebtedness to them by the OMCs and the government.

The BDCs are faced with liquidity problems because seven out of 10 banks have pulled out from pre-financing their activities as a result of their indebtedness to those banks.

Another challenge confronting the BDCs is the depreciation of the cedi and the high demand for foreign exchange to import finished petroleum products.

Solution

Highlighting the measures being instituted by the CBOD to resolve the numerous financial challenges facing its members, Mr Hosi said his outfit had decided to cut back on credit for non-paying OMCs, reduce credit duration for some, as well as implement the cash-and-carry policy in full.

 “This has become necessary because if not checked, they will compound the liquidity crisis the industry faces and in turn negatively affect the ability of the BDCs to sustain supplies to the consumer,” he intimated.

Touching on the effects the liquidity challenges would have on the financial sector, he said, “The inherent risk associated with any form of irresponsible credit behaviour has a direct impact on the financial sector and the economy as a whole in ways that may be irreparable.

“This is a $3-billion industry and so you can imagine the effects any negative impact will have on consumers and the banking industry as a whole.”

Fuel shortage   

Meanwhile, there are reports of pockets of petroleum products shortage in some parts of Accra, reports Seth Bokpe.

A number of Goil fuel stations in Accra have run out of petrol, compelling attendants to turn away customers in need of fuel. 

At the Goil Fuel Station near the La General Hospital, an attendant told the Daily Graphic that the station had run out of petrol since Tuesday.

There was, however, a delivery truck discharging diesel at the station.

At the Kpeshie Lagoon Goil Fuel Station near the Labadi Beach Hotel, the fuel attendants said the station had been out of petrol since the morning but added that it was expecting some fuel later in the day.

At the Goil station close to the Alajo Junction, the manager declined to comment, but the attendants had earlier said they did not have petrol.

The situation was not different at the Goil station at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, where the attendants said the station had been without petrol for three days. 

They could not tell when the station would receive its next consignment of fuel. 

It was the same story at the Goil station at Adabraka, near the Kojo Thompson Road, where the attendants said there had been no fuel since Tuesday.

UTAG ends strike; But POTAG threatens another

Public university students will now heave a sigh of relief, following an agreement between the government and leadership of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) to end UTAG’s month-long strike.

Yesterday, the government and the leadership of UTAG signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to end the strike which was to protest the non-payment of UTAG members’ book and research allowance by the government.
Seven-point decision
Under a seven-point agreement, the government has reaffirmed its resolve to pay the lecturers their book and research allowance under the existing arrangement for the 2013/14 academic year.
Briefing the Daily Graphic after the signing ceremony yesterday, the counsel for UTAG, Mr Charles Bawaduah, explained that by that agreement, UTAG was supposed to call off the strike immediately.
He added, however, that this would be possible after a meeting of the National Executive Council (NEC) before the end of the week.
He also said it was after that meeting that UTAG would officially call off the strike.
Explaining the details of the agreement, Mr Bawaduah said the two parties resolved to ensure that the payment started immediately and was completed by the end of the 2014 fiscal year.
He added that they also agreed that the exchange rate should be computed using the average Bank of Ghana exchange rate for 2013 and 2014.
“It was noted that the Ministry of Finance and the National Council for Tertiary Education have initiated the processes leading to the payment of the book and research allowance. UTAG is expected by this agreement to call off its nationwide strike action immediately to restore normalcy on all university campuses,” Mr Bawaduah said, quoting the agreement.
He indicated that the parties also agreed that the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) should negotiate UTAG’s condition of service with them, in line with the Single Spine pay policy, taking into consideration, the government’s policy to establish a national research fund.
The agreement, however, concluded that until the negotiations between UTAG and FWSC on UTAG’s conditions of service were completed,there should not be any variation in the conditions.
Background
A similar meeting with the leadership of the Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana (POTAG) on Tuesday, August 26 2014, led to the association calling off its three-month-old strike.
UTAG embarked on the strike due to the non-payment of the book and research allowance to its members.
Currently, the book allowance stands at $1,500 per lecturer per year, while the research component stands at GH¢400 and there are reports that institutions that have nothing to do with research have been benefiting from the research allowance.
Beneficiary institutions
Such institutions include: The National Accreditation Board, the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Ghana Science Association of Encyclopedia Africana, and the National Board for Professional and Technical Examinations.
Dissatisfied with delays in resolving the impasse, the UTAG decided to go to the law court to compel the government to pay the allowance.
At a meeting with the leadership of POTAG last Tuesday, the government pledged to pay the book and research allowance to polytechnic teachers but UTAG said that was not the first time that the government had expressed its commitment to pay the allowance.
It, therefore, decided to continue the strike until the allowances were paid into members’ accounts.
Fresh POTAG strike
Meanwhile,  the Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana (POTAG) has threatened to embark on yet another strike if their August salary is not paid, a week after it called off a three-month industrial action, reports Mabel Aku Baneseh
“Our August 2014 salary has been frozen despite the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) we signed with government. We have given government up to this Friday, September 5, 2014, to pay us or we will not return to class beginning next Monday,” the Chairman of the Accra Polytechnic chapter of POTAG, Mr Jones Ntiamoah, said in a Daily Graphic interview in Accra yesterday.
POTAG embarked on a strike three months ago in protest over the non-payment of their book and research allowance.
This led to the closure of all polytechnics in the country.
Following this, the government also decided to freeze the salaries of the teachers after the Ministry of Education issued a directive to the Controller and Accountant General’s Department, ordering it to freeze the August salaries of the striking teachers.
The association, however, called off the strike after a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between POTAG and the government.
Decision
According to Mr Ntiamoah, a meeting was held yesterday at the Accra Polytechnic campus in consultation with the national executive and eventually arrived at this decision.
He expressed disappointment at the failure of the government to adhere to the terms of the MoU.
According to him, the said MoU indicated that the Book and Research Allowance for the 2013/2014 academic year would be paid immediately.
Background
On July 14, 2014, the Human Rights Division of the Accra High Court declared that the strike embarked upon by the POTAG was legal.
Consequently, the court, presided over by Mr Justice Kofi Essel Mensah, directed the National Labour Commission (NLC) to enter a compulsory arbitration procedure provided for under Regulation 26 of the National Labour Commission Regulations, 2006 (LI 1822), with POTAG to resolve the impasse.
Accordingly, Mr Justice Essel Mensah said the NLC was expected to enter the compulsory arbitration within 10 working days with the leadership of the lecturers.
Polytechnic teachers began a strike from May 15, 2014 to August 31, 2014 to protest  the non-payment of their book and research allowance.
The strike led to the closure of polytechnics in the country after the 21-day period elapsed per the Polytechnic Act, which states that a school or polytechnic will be closed after 21 days of continuous strike by lecturers or students.
Victory for the rule of law
Counsel for POTAG, Mr Justin Pwavra Teriwajah, described the ruling of the court as victory for the rule of law.
He said the significance of the ruling was that the NLC had to watch every step it took in its mandate to resolve labour disputes since the courts would not condone misapplication of the labour law.
“The court’s ruling signifies the end of the days when the NLC would come out to declare a strike as illegal when no formal complaint has been lodged with it by the appropriate employer for the commission to delve into the labour dispute as a neutral quasi-judicial body.”
He indicated that he believed the ruling would keep the NLC on its toes and do justice to the numerous cases it might be dealing with.
Victory for future generations
In spite of the challenges that the ruling might have brought to students, the National President of POTAG, Mr James Dugrah, noted that it would go a long way to benefit future generations.
“If we do not ensure fairness and equity in the profession, generations yet unborn will blame us one day for not setting good standards,” he said.