Ghana Telecom Sale Case: Plaintiffs To Lead Evidence In Court

By Stephen Kwabena Effah
November 23, 2011

The six Ghanaians, who sued the government in 2008 over its sale of the 70 per cent shares in Ghana Telecom to Vodafone International, will from December 9 lead evidence, to establish their case at the Accra Commercial Court.

The six are seeking a declaration that the agreement entered into by the government in offloading its shares was not in accordance with due process of law and thus a nullity.

The action was initiated at the Commercial Court in October 2008 by 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 of Ghana.

At the court’s sitting yesterday, the presiding judge, Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, asked the plaintiffs to cause hearing notices to be served on the four entities subpoenaed to present some relevant documents on the case to the court.

The entities are Volta River Authority, the National Communication Authority, the Ecobank Development Co-operation and the Ministry of Communication

Until yesterday when the court granted a seven-day leave to the plaintiffs to file an amended writ of summons and statement of claim, all the initial processes preceding hearing had been concluded.

According to the plaintiffs, the amendment was prompted by new developments which had come to their attention, which they said was the10-year lease of radio towers and buildings in Takoradi by Vodafone to Eaton Towers of UK.

Meanwhile, the court has given the defendants; the Attorney General and Vodafone Ghana, up to November 25 to also file their statement of defence, in response to the yet to be filed amended statement of claim by the plaintiffs.

The case was thus adjourned to December 9.
The A-G was represented by State Attorney Grace Ewoo, while Mr. Festus Kayin represented Vodafone Ghana.

The plaintiffs are contending that the sale and purchase agreement entered into between the Government of Ghana, GT and Vodafone for the sale of 70 per cent of GT for 900 million dollars was against the public interest and constituted an abuse of the discretionary powers of the government.

According to the plaintiffs, the decision of 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 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.

The plaintiffs are, therefore praying the court to 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.

They 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.