The Attorney-General, Godfred Yeboah Dame has called for a reform of laws governing arbitration and the institution of civil claims against the state.
Speaking at the conference of the public sector lawyers in Accra, on November 5, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice cautioned that if not managed properly, arbitral claims made against the government from arbitrations can cripple the economy.
“There are certain glaring dangers that I think arbitration portends for Ghana and the developing world which seem to be overlooked. Whilst arbitration is touted to assure neutrality, privacy, and efficiency in the adjudication of disputes, arbitral claims filed against the government, if not diligently managed, tend to collapse the entire Ghanaian economy. A single arbitral claim, if successful can bring the economy of a developing country like Ghana, to its knees,” he intimated to a room filled with President Akufo-Addo and public sector lawyers.
Godfred Dame posited that in a space of four years, arbitral claims against Ghana amounted to over $9billion. He explained that a possible collapse of the country’s economy was averted following the defense by his office.
Additionally, Dame cited a domestic arbitral claim which he said upon successful defense, had warded off GHC10trillion.
“In point of fact, over the past four years, the value of arbitral claims against the Republic has been over US$9Billion. I cite a few examples to illustrate the point:
a. The financial claim by ENI/Vitol against Ghana was initially US$7Bn and subsequently reduced to US$915Million after a challenge in the course of the proceedings by Ghana. Any of these amounts (US$7Bn or US$915Million) could have collapsed the Ghanaian economy. By the Grace of God, this financial claim was recently dismissed in its entirety by the international arbitration tribunal.
b. Cassius Mining Ltd’s claim against the Government of Ghana has a value of about US$300 million.
c. GCNet’s arbitral claim involves a claim of over GHC4billion (the equivalent of about US$250Million)
d. The recently filed Eland arbitration claim against Government of Ghana involves a claim for a minimum US$320Million.
These are just a sample of a few of the international arbitration claims against Ghana. Domestically, there have been claims in excess of over GHC10 Trillion successfully defended by the Office of the Attorney-General against the State,” the A-G touted.
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