Court action looms against Ghana Post
Already faced with challenges over its relevance in recent times due to the emergence of the Internet and technology-based communication methods, the Ghana Postal Service faces the threat of a legal suit for abrogating a contract with a partner.
Advertisement
The partner, Sky Consult Limited, says it may consider legal action against the national postal service for termination of a contract between them in the operation of a money transfer system, which, to them, was doing very well before its termination in 2008.
Taking his turn at the Judgement Debt Commission hearing yesterday, the Chief Executive Officer of Sky Consult Limited, Mr Abubakari Millah, said his company incurred a huge cost buying computers to computerise Ghana Post countrywide and took a bank loan and “sometime along the line before we realised they had instituted a similar product”.
While he refuted media publications that his company had already sued Ghana Post for GH¢2.4 million for abrogating that contract, Mr Millah said they were already contemplating taking that action.
“My Lord, the GH¢2.4 million will be good for us, since it would enable us to pay part of our loss,” Mr Millah told the Sole Commissioner, Mr Justice Yaw Apau, drawing laughter from all present.
Justice Apau, however, admonished Sky Consult to hold on with the court action and rather sit down with Ghana Post to settle the issue.
Mr Millah also told the commissioner that he had submitted a committee report, which had instructed the new board of Ghana Post to review the contract and restart the service as soon as possible, while all the union leaders of Ghana Post had held that the money transfer service must be resumed.
Efficient system
According to Mr Millah, his company had received no official communication on why the contract with Ghana Post was abrogated, although the money transfer system, which Justice Apau recollected ever using when it was in operation, was attracting many customers to Ghana Post.
Other Trending Stories
He said Ghana Post had lost about GH¢9.7 million, while Sky Consult had lost about GH¢6.1 million, since it stopped the service in 2008 at a time they (Sky Consult) were computerising the system.
“The Service actually won the Economic Commission for Africa Technology in Africa Award in 2007 and we went to Addis Ababa to collect the award with their chief executive officer and since then almost all the African countries have been chasing for this product,” Mr Millah disclosed.
Sky Consult was at the Judgement Debt Commission in response to a subpoena in the matter of Sky Consult Limited vrs Ghana Post, which was in respect of the former’s unpaid commission balance of GH¢978,000 for which a judgement debt of GH¢1,693,872.11 including interest was awarded against Ghana Post in 2010.
According to Mr Millah, as of now GH¢1,553,871.56 had been paid through their lawyer, with GH¢130,000 outstanding. He, therefore, tendered in evidence all documents on the contract, as well as those covering payments made.
Adjournment
Representing the Ghana Post Managing Director was Mr Bernard Yao Atta-Sonno who was the company of the acting Solicitor General of Ghana Post, Mr Kwesi Adjeni-Boateng.
They asked for an adjournment of the case because Ghana Post had still not been able to lay hands on all documentation covering the agreement with Sky Consult Limited.
That was granted and a new date was fixed for January 8, 2014.