GCNet GH¢4b case against Ghana dismissed …defendant awarded US$2.2m costs
The Ghana Community Network Services Limited (GCNet) GH¢4 billion arbitration against Ghana has been dismissed by an International Tribunal in London.
Consequently, the tribunal awarded costs of US$ 2.2 million in favour of Ghana against GCNet.
On June 30, 2022 GCNeT challenged the right of the Government of Ghana to terminate a service agreement it had with the government by which GCNET was granted the exclusive right to develop, customise, update and operate an electronic system for processing customs payment and trade documents at ports in Ghana.
Under the agreement, GCNet was authorised to charge all users of the services a fee equivalent to 0.40 per cent of the Final Invoice (FOB) value of all import transactions and 0.15 per cent of all export transactions which pass through the CMS and TradeNet portion of the services.
The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, MrGodfredYeboah Dame, who represented Ghana asked the tribunal to reject GCNet’s claims.
He urged the tribunal to hold that Ghana validly terminated the agreement between the parties.
The tribunal unanimously held that Ghana validly terminated the agreement on April 28, 2020, within the meaning of Article 11.3, and the termination was lawful.
The tribunal said GCNet waived its rights to seek damages for the impact of the exemptions and discounts on its fees.
The tribunal also found that the impact of the exemptions and discounts on GCNet fees did not breach the Service Agreement.
The tribunal upheld Ghana’s submission that as stated in the agreement, GCNet should be awarded compensation of $5.4 million for the Government’s early termination of the agreement.
The tribunal also found that GCNet was the “unsuccessful party in the arbitration” and that Ghana had “expended money and time in defending a claim that the Tribunal has held to be ill-founded.” It, therefore, ordered that GCNet shall pay a total sum of US$2,185,983.21 in legal fees to Ghana.
BY MALIK SULLEMANA
