By Felix
Engsalige Nyaaba
The Court of Appeal has on last
Friday thrown out the motion for stay of proceeding and execution filed by the defendant, the Vodafone Ghana, in the
case in which the government has been sued for offloading 70 percent of its
shares in Ghana Telecom to Vodafone International.
The court said, the application to
stay proceeding at the High Court was in bad taste as it sought to coerce the
appeal court to usurp the Supreme Court directives on the case.
The commercial court at the last sitting in the case gave Vodafone up to December 16, last year to file its amended statement of defence, and December 22 for the plaintiffs, the Attorney General and Vodafone to file new issues of trial following the filing of an amended statement of case by the plaintiffs.
The commercial court at the last sitting in the case gave Vodafone up to December 16, last year to file its amended statement of defence, and December 22 for the plaintiffs, the Attorney General and Vodafone to file new issues of trial following the filing of an amended statement of case by the plaintiffs.
The ordered by the commercial court
was also to allow the plaintiffs to bring in documents from VRA, GRIDCO,
VOLTACOM and the Ministry of Communication in relation to the ministerial
meeting on the sale of Ghana Telecom.
But the defendants, Vodafone Ghana,
said, the commercial court orders were illegal and that the plaintiff has no
legal capacity to bring such documents into the case.
They therefore filed an application
at the Court of Appeal against the commercial court orders.
However, in their ruling last
Friday, the three panel judge, led by Justice Yaw Apau, unanimously dismissed the application on the
grounds that the appeal court has no jurisdiction to determine the directive of
the Supreme Court which has the
supervisory power over the appeal court .
The three member panel further asked
the defence to comply with Supreme Court directive and go back to the High
Court to defend it case.
According to the appeal court, the application
was wrongfully filed as the defendant should make its case at the High Court
and therefore accordingly dismissed the application.
The court of Appeal ruling
dismissing the application to stay proceeding at the High Court has therefore given
the plaintiffs to file the necessary documents and to make their case .
The suit action against Vodafone and
the government of Ghana was initiated at the Commercial Court in October 2008
by the plaintiffs’ legal counsel Mr. Bright Akwetey.
The plaintiffs are Professor
Agyemang Badu Akosa, Michael Kosi Dedey, Dr Nii Moi Thompson, Naa Kordai
Assimeh, Ms Rhodaline Imoru Ayarna and Mr Kwame Jantuah, all members of the
Convention People’s Party, in their capacity as citizens.
They are contending that the Sale and Purchase Agreement entered into among the Government of Ghana, GT and Vodafone for the sale of 70 per cent of GT for 900 million dollar was against the public interest and constituted an abuse of the discretionary powers of the government.
According to the plaintiff, the decision of the government to transfer the assets, properties, shares, equipment, among others, to Vodafone was obnoxious, unlawful and inimical to the public interest, particularly when no consideration was required to be paid by Vodafone for the stated assets.
The group argued that the three Ministers of State and the managing director of GT who signed the agreement on behalf of the government did not exercise the requisite level of circumspection required of them as public officers in relation to public property.
They are, therefore, seeking reliefs from the court, including a declaration that the agreement entered into by the government was not in accordance with the due process of law and was, therefore, a nullity.
They are contending that the Sale and Purchase Agreement entered into among the Government of Ghana, GT and Vodafone for the sale of 70 per cent of GT for 900 million dollar was against the public interest and constituted an abuse of the discretionary powers of the government.
According to the plaintiff, the decision of the government to transfer the assets, properties, shares, equipment, among others, to Vodafone was obnoxious, unlawful and inimical to the public interest, particularly when no consideration was required to be paid by Vodafone for the stated assets.
The group argued that the three Ministers of State and the managing director of GT who signed the agreement on behalf of the government did not exercise the requisite level of circumspection required of them as public officers in relation to public property.
They are, therefore, seeking reliefs from the court, including a declaration that the agreement entered into by the government was not in accordance with the due process of law and was, therefore, a nullity.
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The plaintiffs who are all CPP members are also demanding that the court should give an order declaring that the forcible grouping of autonomous state institutions established by law Voltacom, Fibreco, VRA Fibre Network and VRA Fibre Assets with GT to form the purported Enlarged GT Group was unlawful and, therefore, void and of no legal effect.
The plaintiffs are further praying for an order of perpetual injunction to restrain the government from disposing of its 70 per cent share of GT to Vodafone or any other foreign company without first exploring avenues for funding and better management in Ghana.
The plaintiffs who are all CPP members are also demanding that the court should give an order declaring that the forcible grouping of autonomous state institutions established by law Voltacom, Fibreco, VRA Fibre Network and VRA Fibre Assets with GT to form the purported Enlarged GT Group was unlawful and, therefore, void and of no legal effect.
The plaintiffs are further praying for an order of perpetual injunction to restrain the government from disposing of its 70 per cent share of GT to Vodafone or any other foreign company without first exploring avenues for funding and better management in Ghana.
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