Ghana’s Supreme Court yesterday announced its decision to adjourn to 9 March 2010 the case concerning the sale of national PTO Ghana Telecom (GT) to the UK's Vodafone Group. The decision was taken by a nine-member panel which ruled the High Court, which handed the case to it, had not fully complied with the rules of the court, GNA reports. In a statement the Supreme Court said: ‘We find that the trial High Court did not comply with rule 67 of CI 16. We hereby order the High Court to comply within 14 days.’
In October 2009 CommsUpdate reported that the committee set up to investigate the sale of a 70% stake in GT to Vodafone recommended that the government consider renegotiating the Sale and Purchase Agreement. At the time, Dr Valerie Sawyerr, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the committee said that Ghana’s government should in particular reconsider Parties to the SPA; compliance or otherwise of the SPA with the laws of Ghana, particularly the NCA Regulations and the Internal Revenue Act 592; value for money/ Transaction consideration; retention of the National Fibre Optic by the Government of Ghana as a strategic national asset; decoupling of the Ghana Telecom University from the transaction (already done); and return of GT investments to the Government of Ghana such as the Telecom Emporium.
Earlier the same month a leaked Ghanaian government report claimed that last year’s sale of the incumbent fixed line operator was ‘unconstitutional and illegal', and did not represent good value for money.
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