The Commercial Court in London has denied the government of Ghana the opportunity to mount a belated challenge to an UNCITRAL award worth over US$134 million in favour of a power contractor.
The AG had argued that national elections and the COVID-19 pandemic, did not afford the state the opportunity to mount their challenge within the stipulated time, however the court ruled the argument as unreasonable.
The case which emerged under the tenure of former AG, Gloria Akufo, traveled into the tenure of current AG, Godfred Dame.
State attorneys, including Helen Akpene Awo Ziwu, Anna Pearl Akiwumi Siriboe and Grace Oppong Dolphy in Accra, have all been mentioned in the case as having failed to beat a 28-day deadline.
The failure of the AG’s department to meet the deadline means the state will be coughing up a significant amount of US$170 million in damages to the claimants; Ghana Power Generation Company (GPGC) located at 1 Airport Square Building, 7TH Floor, Accra.
Godfred Dame and his subordinates’ attempts to hide behind the 2020 general election and the COVID-19 pandemic as excuses for the delay, was rebuffed by the London court.
In a ruling on Wednesday June 8, Mr Justice Butcher, refused to grant the government a time extension to apply to set aside the award – adding that the state’s grounds for challenging it were “intrinsically weak”.
Source: GhanaFeed.Com
