Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com
By William Yaw Owusu
Tuesday, May 05, 2015
The Attorney General
has filed a defense in the case in which pressure group, OccupyGhana is suing
former Minister of state, Dr. Joe Oteng-Adjei over a luxurious vehicle he
allegedly kept even after his exit from government.
The pressure group
together with one of its leaders Sydney Casely-Hayford on March 12, filed the
suit and joined the AG in the action after they claimed Dr. Oteng-Adjei took
home Lexus Vehicle with registration GC 5958-11 illegally when he left his
position as Minister of Energy (between February 2009 and 14th February, 2013)
and later Minister of Environment, Science and Technology (between 14th
February 2013 and 16th July 2014.
The former minister after exiting from
government, allegedly kept a project car, Lexus LX 570 purchased under rural
electrification project.
An Auditor General's report for that
the Energy Ministry on the special rural electrification had between 2010 and
2012 expended close to $2 million on 38 luxury vehicles and other office
equipment which were to be used to monitor and inspect a rural electrification
project.
OccupyGhana Reliefs
OccupyGhana wants the
court to order Dr. Oteng-Adjei to pay to the state a whopping GH¢355,812 for
keeping the car for a period of 222 days (16th July 2014 to 23rd February
2015).
They further want a
declaration that 1st Defendant’s (Dr. Oteng-Adjei) keeping and use of Lexus
Vehicle from 16th July 2014 to 23rd February 2015 “amounts to conversion and
detinue”; and a further declaration that the government was negligent in not
ensuring that Dr. Oteng-Adjei returned the vehicle upon leaving office as
Minister on 16th July 2014.
The plaintiffs said
they want the court to declare that the state and people of Ghana are entitled
to surcharge or otherwise be paid or compensated by Dr. Oteng-Adjei “for his
wrongful and illegal use” of the vehicle.
They further want the
court to order the AG (2nd defendant) to recover from Dr.
Oteng-Adjei “GH¢355,812 at the rate of 25% per annum, calculated on calendar
month basis from 16th July 2014 to 23rd February 2015,” as well as “general
damages against 1st Defendant in conversion and detinue,” and costs.
AG’s Defence
The AG fired back
with a defence filed on April 27, 2015 denying most of the claims but admitting
that the said vehicle was one of the fleet of vehicles purchased under a
project for the electrification of some communities in the Western, Central and
Brong Ahafo regions known as the Weldy Lamont project.
In an attempt to shrug
off the plaintiff’s claim of negligence, the AG appears to have exposed Dr.
Oteng-Adjei when she averred that “following a circular from the Chief of
Staff, former ministers were allowed to use their official vehicles for a
period of three months after leaving office.”
It is the contention
of the plaintiff’s that Dr. Oteng-Adjei kept the car for 222 days and with the
AG’s defence that they former ministers were given three months to return the
cars, the court is expected to investigate the plaintiff’s claims.
OccupyGhana Intentions
The plaintiffs
averred that in the course of the trial they would impress on the court that
the Lexus vehicle belongs to the government and that Dr. Oteng-Adjei used it as
an official vehicle while in office as Minister of Energy and subsequently as
Minister of Environment, Science and Technology.
They further said
they would impress on the court that Dr. Oteng-Adjei was removed from office as
Minister of Environment, Science and Technology on 16th July 2014 and upon his
removal from office, “failed or refused” to hand the vehicle over to the
government and instead “continued to keep and use same for his private purposes
until a media exposè compelled him to admit to his reprehensible conduct and
return the vehicle to the government on 23rd February 2015.”
They also averred
that they would let the court know that Dr. Oteng-Adjei “wrongfully and
illegally” kept the vehicle and used it for a total of 222 days and that the
government was “negligent or otherwise complicit” in not ensuring that he
returned the vehicle when he was removed from office as Minister on 16th July
2014.
Constitutional Duty
“The Government owes
a general and constitutional duty of care towards the plaintiffs and the people
of Ghana to secure and protect the principles of probity and accountability,
pursuant to which the Government had an obligation under the Constitution and
general law, to demand the immediate return of the Vehicle by 1st Defendant on
his removal as a Minister,” the plaintiffs averred.
They said the
government “breached its duty of care to the plaintiffs and the people of Ghana
when it failed to demand the return of the vehicle by 1st Defendant, or take
any appropriate steps to compel 1st defendant to return the vehicle.”
“Plaintiffs and the people
of Ghana have sustained damages as a result of the breach of this duty by the
Government, which deprived them of their interest in, possession of, access to
and use of the vehicle.”
They maintained that
notwithstanding the government’s negligence or complicity, Ghana and people of
Ghana “are entitled to be restituted and compensated by 1st Defendant for his
conversion of, and detinue with respect to, the vehicle.”
As at press time, it
was not clear if Dr. Oteng-Adjei had filed his defence.
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