The Supreme Court has dismissed a lawsuit before it by Exton Cubic Ghana Limited seeking to overturn a decision by a Kumasi High Court refusing to grant compensation for the seizure of their equipment.
The lawyers for the company headed to the apex court after the High Court, presided over by Justice George Addai Kwofa in June 2018, dismissed the mining company’s case on the basis that its mining lease had not been ratified by Parliament.
[contextly_sidebar id=”C9YB4EIpxvgD90y2tJ9EnTaapedGtdlL”]In an application for review by lawyers for Exton Cubic, they argued that the High Court had no jurisdiction to give an interpretation of Article 268 clause 1 which relates to parliamentary ratification of contracts.
According to them, the Judge should have referred the matter to the Supreme Court for interpretation.
But justices of the apex court ruled that the application had no merit because the Supreme Court had already given an interpretation on Article 268.
Exton Cubic’s leases to prospect in the Tano Offin Forest Reserve were challenged in August 2017.
The Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah, ordered the seizure of their equipment because Exton Cubic was said to be prospecting without a permit at the Nyinahini bauxite concession.
At the time, the mining company maintained that the seizure of vehicles belonging to Ibrahim Mahama’s Engineers and Planners (E&P) was unlawful because it was in possession of three required permits.
It further complained that the confusion in Nyinahin and the seizure of the equipment was costing over $40,000 daily.
Minister of Lands and Natural Resources at the time, Peter Amewu, eventually revoked these permits because they were found to be invalid due to non-compliance on the part of Exton Cubic.
After series of threats in October 2017, Exton Cubic filed an application for a review of the decision to revoke the company’s licences.
In their suit, the company argued that the Minister’s decision was unreasonable, unjust, and an abuse of his powers.
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By: Fred Djabanor | citinewsroom.com
