By a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court (SC) yesterday
dismissed the suit challenging Ghana’s Military Cooperation Agreement
with the United States of America (USA).
A seven-member panel of judges presided over by
Chief Justice Anin Yeboah stated that the case brought by Mr Yaw Brogya
Genfi, the Ashanti Regional Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC)
was without merit.
It said that the full judgement would be ready today.
The SC was expected to deliver judgement on April 22 but the case
was adjourned to May 5 because the judges could not have conference during the
lockdown.
The defence agreement would among other things allow the US military and
civilian personnel access to certain facilities in Ghana and provide them
privileges, exemptions and immunities equivalent to those accorded to the
administrative and technical staff of diplomatic mission under the Vienna
Convention on Diplomatic Relations of April 18, 1961.
Ghana is expected to benefit from aid package in excess of $20 million
from the USA in the areas of training and grant.
Mr Genfi who filed the writ, is asking that the agreement be nullified as the ratification
by Parliament was unconstitutional.
The writ, filed on Monday, March 26, 2018, has Miss Gloria Akuffo, Attorney
General and Minister of Justice and Defence Minister Dominic Nitiwul, as first
and second defendants.
The ratification of the Ghana-US defence pact was not without
controversy.
Critics of the deal had argued that the signing of the agreement meant that Ghana sold its sovereignty to the U.S.
The NDC, the biggest opposition political party in Ghana expressed its angst over the agreement by staging a walkout from Parliamentary proceedings that ratified the agreement.
In a related development, a seven-member panel of the Supreme Court has dismissed the suit in which a non-profit organisation has sued the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, on the issuance of a $ 2.25 billion bond.
The court held that the case was unmeritorious and accordingly dismissed same.
The Chief Justice, Justice Anin Yeboah presiding, said the full reasons for the dismissal of the suit would be ready on May 20.
The Dynamic Youth Movement of Ghana (DYMOG) sued the Finance Minister following the investigation and findings by the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) in the matter of issuance of the $2.25 billion bond.
BY MALIK SULLEMANA
