COURT SLAPS NPA/TOR

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Wednesday July 7, 2010
An Accra High Court has ruled that the ‘ex-refinery differentials’ imposed on the people by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) is illegal.

Development Data, a policy research and advocacy think tank, Kwaku Kwarteng of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and Abdul Ganiyu all plaintiffs filed the suit against the NPA and Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), seeking a declaration that the Ex-Refinery differentials imposed by the defendants since June 5, 2009 is illegal.

According to the plaintiffs, the ‘ex-refinery differentials’ after ex- refinery and ex-pump prices has become an extraneous element introduced by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government and which has not been made known to the people of Ghana about how it is being used.

The plaintiffs filed the suit on September 28, 2009 but the NPA and TOR did not file any motion to contest the case and the court had no option but to give a default judgement.

In his ruling on July 5, 2010, the court presided over by Justice Patrick Baayeh said “upon hearing the affidavit of the second plaintiff filed on June 30, 2010, and upon hearing Alexander Abban Esq. counsel for and on behalf of the plaintiffs default judgement is hereby entered against the first defendant as prayed for”
The court also awarded GH¢ 400 cost against the NPA.

In their statement of claim the plaintiffs had said “contrary to NPA Act 2005, Act 691, the NPA neglected, failed and/or refused to gazette the import parity price of refined petroleum products as at June 5, 2010.”

“In order to conceal the illegal price top-ups from the public, and to unjustifiably profit from same, the NPA by a confidential letter dated June 5, 2009, directed TOR to pay the difference between the true ex-refinery prices and false ex-refinery prices which the NPA calls ‘ex-refinery differential’ into the NPS’s bank account.”

They said the NPA did not authority any authority to impose the ‘ex-differential prices adding “the NPA imposed an illegal charge on consumers in its maximum fuel prices announced on June 5, 2009.”

“The unlawful action of the defendants is extortionist on consumers of petroleum products in the country and the defendants will not, unless otherwise ord3ered by this court, abate their unlawful actions.”

The plaintiffs therefore sought a declaration that the ex-pump prices announced on the basis of the ‘ex-refinery prices’ were not in accordance with the prescribed petroleum pricing formula and therefore unlawful.

They also sought an order for TOR to cease the collection of the illegal ex-refinery differential for NPA and another order compelling the NPA and TOR to publicly declare the amount of money accrued from the imposition of the illegal ex-refinery differential and to pay it into the consolidated fund.

They also asked the court to order the NPA to publish periodically in the gazette import parity prices of the refined petroleum products and a perpetual injunction restraining the NPA from imposing the exploitative ‘ex-differential’.