Court orders finance minister to make appearance

The Commercial Division of the Accra Fast Track High Court, Tuesday ordered the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning to appear before it at its next sitting on May 14, 2012.

At its previous sitting, the court, presided over by Mrs Gertrude Torkornoo, subpoenaed the minister to appear in court to provide an original copy of the agreement involving the Government of Ghana, Vodafone International Holdings B.V and the Ghana Telecommunications Company Limited which saw the sale of 70 per cent shares of Ghana Telecom in 2008.

But when the case was called today, neither the minister nor his representative was in court, a development that infuriated the presiding judge.

But for the plea of counsel for the the plaintiffs in the case, the court would have issued a bench warrant for the minister’s arrest.

Counsel for the plaintiffs, Mr Bright Akwetey, pleaded with Mrs Justice Torkornoo to issue a final order for the minister’s appearance, failure of which force could be applied.

The plaintiffs, Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa, Michael Kosi Dedey, Dr Nii Moi Thompson, Naa Kordai Assimeh, Ms Rhodaline Imoro Ayarna and Kwame Jantuah, all members of the Convention People’s Party, are demanding from the minister the original documents containing the sale and purchase agreement of Ghana Telecom dated July 3, 2008.

They commenced the action in October, 2008 in their capacity as private citizens.

The plaintiffs contend that the agreement entered into by the government to offload its shares in the company was not in accordance with due process of the law and therefore a nullity.

They argue that the sale and purchase agreement entered into by the Government of Ghana, Ghana Telecom (GT) and Vodafone for the sale of 70 per cent of GT for 900 million dollars was against public interest and constituted an abuse of the discretionary powers of the government.

They further contend that the decision by the government to transfer the assets, property shares, equipment among others, to Vodafone was obnoxious, unlawful and inimical to the public interest, particularly when no compensation was required from Vodafone for the stated assets.

According to the plaintiffs, the three Ministers of State and the managing director of Ghana Telecom, who signed the agreement on behalf of the government, did not exercise the level of circumspection required of them as public officers, in relation to public property.

The reliefs they are seeking from the court include a declaration that the agreement entered into by the government was not in accordance with due process of the law and was, therefore, nullity.

They are further praying the court to give an order declaring that the forcible grouping of autonomous state institutions established by law, which are Voltacom, Fibreco, VRA Fibre Network and VRA Fibre Assets with Ghana Telecom to form the purported Enlarged GT Group was unlawful and, therefore, void and of no legal effect.

The plaintiffs are also praying for an order of perpetual injunction to restrain the government from disposing of the 70 per cent share of Ghana Telecom to Vodafone or any other foreign company, without first exploring other avenues for funding.