The National Communications Officer for the National Democratic Congress has revealed that the current Attorney General, Mr Godfred Dame was a member of the legal team that represented the country in the $170m judgement debt.
Mr Sammy Gyamfi made this known at a Press Conference that was addressed by him on Monday.
According to Mr Sammy Gyamfi, Mr Godfred Dome cannot apportion blame to anyone when indeed he was part of the legal team that represented Ghana in this case.
Kindly read the full statement by Mr Sammy Gyamfi
Distinguished friends from the media, another point worthy of mention in this discussion is the crass incompetence and sloppiness with which the Attorney General’s Department
and the Akufo-Addo government handled the court processes to set aside the Arbitral
award.
As you may be aware, at Arbitration, the Republic of Ghana was represented by lawyers from the AG’s Department which included the Deputy AG at the time and now AG, Godfred Yeboah Dame, and a Ghanaian Law firm, Amofa & Partners.
The Permanent
Court of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law Tribunal delivered its final award on 26th January, 2021 after which Ghana had a 28-day ultimatum to
challenge same in a court of competent jurisdiction in the United Kingdom, the seat of the arbitration. The Akufo-Addo government then engaged the services of an English law
firm Omnia Strategy, which is owned by Cherry Blair, wife of Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of the UK at the expense of the Ghanaian taxpayer.
Sadly, the government of Ghana and its external solicitors went to sleep only to go to an English court on the 25th day of the 28-day ultimatum to ask for extension of time. The court magnanimously gave an eight (8)-day extension to allow our external solicitors file
the appropriate processes. Subsequent to the grant of this extension of time by the Court,
our external solicitor, Omnia Strategy, realizing that the Government of Ghana had a very bad case, and mindful of the damage the case could do to their enviable reputation, backed out of the case. The Akufo-Addo government once again engaged the services of another
foreign law firm called Volterra Fietta at the expense of the Ghanaian taxpayer, who managed to file a process to challenge the Arbitral award on the 1st of April, 2021, twenty three (23) days after the extended deadline of 8th March, 2021 had lapsed. All the excuses which were cited by the Akufo-Addo government for the delay, mainly COVID-19 and the 2020 elections with its associated handing-over bureaucracies were dismissed as “intrinsically weak” by the Court and the final Arbitral award upheld.
Ladies and gentlemen of the media, the NDC is appalled and disgusted by the
incompetence, sloppiness and recklessness that was displayed by the NPP/Akufo-Addo government, particularly the AG’s department in the conduct of this case. The AG and her Deputy, Godfred Yeboah Dame, who led the Government of Ghana’s legal team at
Arbitration, very well knew that the Tribunal had set 26th January, 2021 for its Arbitral
decision or award. They all became aware of the Arbitral Award against Ghana on 26th January, 2021 at which time, their party, the New Patriotic Party was in office. They knew
that Ghana had only 28 days to challenge the award if we so wished and they knew that an AG or deputy AG was not likely to be in office by that time. What instructions did
they give to the Solicitor General or the relevant officers of the AG’s Department in their handing over notes or what arrangements did they put in place to ensure that the Arbitral award was challenged if it didn’t go in our favor?
Clearly, the current Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has proven to be very incompetent and sloppy as far as this matter is concerned. His desperate attempt to
extricate himself from blame and shift blame to his former boss, Madam Gloria Akufo,
and past government officials who left office about five (5) years ago, is shameful and
unfortunate to say the least. In any serious jurisdiction, the Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, and the Solicitor General, who are paid by Ghanaians to defend the interest of the State in legal matters and who were actually involved in the conduct of the
case, would have been held accountable or resigned by now.
