Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta has been cleared by the Supreme Court in a case brought against him by the Dynamic Youth Movement of Ghana (DYMOG) and another, Edward Tuttor. The Finance Minister was sued over a controversial US$2.25 billion Eurobond, which the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and the Attorney-General were equally joined to the suit.
The plaintiffs sought to invoke the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court for interpretation and enforcement of Articles 284 and 286 of the Constitution among other provisions.
However, the Apex Court, presided over by the Chief Justice, Justice Anin Yeboah, unanimously ruled that what the plaintiffs were seeking had no merit, hence, struck out the suit.
The court stated that reasons behind its unanimous decision would be made available today.
The background of the case that is credited Ghanaweb.com is that the DYMOG, on May 8, 2017, petitioned the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate the transparency of the bond, its classification, and a claim of possible conflict of interest in its issuance.
The Finance Minister, in the view of CHRAJ, breached that provision of the Constitution.
CHRAJ further established Mr. Ofori-Atta’s interest in Databank and Enterprise Group Limited, whose objects are linked to the securities industry, places him in a high conflict of interest situation.
It again claimed Mr. Ofori-Atta’s failure to declare all his assets in Data Bank Financial Services, Data Bank Brokerage Limited and Databank Financial Holdings Limited was a violation of Article 286 (1) (a) of the Constitution.
CHRAJ overstepped its remit
But he DYMOG is accusing CHRAJ of going overboard to make some pronouncements on the matter that are outside its remit, something the group argued, “constitute a blatant violation of our laws.”
‘No issue for interpretation’
However, the Attorney General and the Finance Minister, in a joint statement of case filed at the Supreme Court, said: “There is no single issue for interpretation or enforcement” of the 1992 Constitution.
The two argued that CHRAJ did not err in any way in making a determination on the case, which has formed the basis of the plaintiffs’ instant action.
The AG and the Finance Minister averred that CHRAJ acted within the confines of the law in determining the matter, adding, “The case of the plaintiff is based on the report of CHRAJ, which is mandatorily required by the Constitution to do so.”
“Act 456 provides an avenue for redress, if the recommendations or the findings CHRAJ needing compliance is not satisfied within three months,” the two defendants stated.
To them, “whether or not Mr. Ofori-Atta was guilty of [a] conflict of interest situation regarding the issuance of the issuance of the government bonds is a duty conferred on CHRAJ by the Constitution, 1992, and not the Supreme Court.” They prayed the Supreme Court to dismiss the case as the plaintiffs were just abusing the court process.
The post Supreme Court clears Ken Ofori-Atta over US$2.25 billion Eurobond appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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