Sam Okudzeto’s Suit – Biggest Test Case for the Mills Government!

I received with mix feelings news that Mr Sam Okudzeto, a stalwart of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and a former director of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) had sued the government for wrongful dissolution of the board of the BoG.

Mr Okudzeto is seeking seven reliefs, which for the purposes of this article would be summarized as reliefs seeking to declare as null and void, dissolution of the former board of which he was a member and also to restrict the President from swearing in the newly named board.

He has every right under the Fourth Republican Constitution to ask for redress – but Mr Okudzeto’s actions have many other implications that are worth exploring.

To begin with, daresay that this case would end anywhere, if precedence is anything to go by in Ghanaian politics, especially given the fact that many civil suits against the government more often than not tend for favour the government. My audacity was learned from an NPP friend and unofficial spokesperson of same, Kweku Baako Jr – he could determine judgements on TV and radio platform and the judges would simply go ahead and pronounce same verdicts!

Mr Okudzeto is one politician whose behaviour shows that our politicians only complain when the political regime does not suit their creature comfort – and it’s clear that the man has already started reminiscing the unstoppable jamboree days of the NPP.

Well, as far as my memory serves me right, a former Chief Justice Acquah openly said that ‘judgements were written for some judges.’ Shocking as that comment from the once third most powerful person in the land might sound at the time, it was a clear confirmation of how perverse, corrupt and pedestrian the judicial system in the country had become. To the extent that a judge could rule that employers could fire any employee without notice. That same Justice, Baffoe Bonnie also delivered other outlandish verdicts that are common knowledge – and for his rather ‘strange’ and wicked handling of the law, he got promoted to the Supreme Court!

It’s also true that many cases which went against the previous government were overturned, courtesy the presence of many of Justice Baffoe Bonnie’s calibre on the bench. Mr Okudzeto was present and happily looked on while the justice system of which he was also a direct participant (he is a lawyer) was so viciously handled for eight odd years.

This atypical behaviour of Mr Okudzeto reminded me of a typical Hollywood style accident I was involved in last week. His behaviour is typical of the impunity that has become so ingrained in the Ghanaian psyche – where the privileged few feel the law is rather a weapon for the deprivation of the masses. Here was I driving home after a long tiring day, only for my car to be violently rammed by an obviously inebriate (or probably mad) public transport (better called trotro) driver. The driver begged me for a while for forgiveness, because he realized if he was asked to pay for repairs on the car, there was no way he could raise the bill! Then to my utter amazement two peace officers who came to the accident scene just stood aloof while we helplessly tried to clear the mess from the road. Well the ‘trotro’ driver who then realized that even the police officers could not help then changed his plea and said that he would not accompany me to the police station any longer. He added a threat that ‘even if I kill you and they take me to court, nobody can do me anything.’ That was his verdict on the legal system by even an illiterate!

I have also not forgotten how the owner of a certain company on the Spintex Road in Accra forcibly took my Uncle’s pricey McCarthy Hills’ land from him. He just took land guards to the plot, split it into two, built on one portion and told my Uncle to go to court – the NPP man simply new what my hapless Uncle would be chasing in those white colonial edifices on the High Street in Accra. It’s my hope though, that my Uncle would get justice some day!

The lopsided and brazenly corrupt justice system has led many to resort to all manner of funny ways of seeking redress. The other day, I was driving through the High Street and to my utter disbelief, two stoutly built men were doing their free for all, right in front of the commercial court buildings – call it alternative dispute resolution (ADR) or out of court settlement! But if the justice system goes kangaroos and bananas the jungle laws become handy!

Just as I admitted in my introduction that Mr Okudzeto had rights under the Constitution, I also want him to be able to prove that he got his appointment to the BoG board on merit. Was he not just appointed because he is a card bearing member of the NPP? Did his party affiliation not blind his judgements for all the eight odd years he served on that board? I would be very glad if he can state clearly his position on, for example, the fact that there was no account whatsoever on the redenomination of the cedi. Mr Okudzeto, those who come with the sword go down with the sword – you must realize that the tide has changed!

There is now a new government in place and I just want to believe, judging by the ‘exemplary’ precedence of your NPP government, judges on the Ghanaian bench would dance to the rhythm of the latest music. I am not saying this is the best way to go, but this is Africa, where the winner takes all. I’ve always said that we are in a circus, as a nation, all we do is that we pretend all well when everything is actually upside down!

In conclusion, I am going to keenly follow Mr Okudzeto’s case, although I know he is going to lose. He would lose because first, the BoG board is not his bona fide and he does not have more rights than others. I also think it would be politically incorrect for the President to refuse to inaugurate the new board so all buttons would be pressed (we’re in Africa) to ensure that the NPP lawyer loses big time!

However, I’ve also been wondering why President Mills dissolved the boards of government owned enterprises – never mind they proffered some rather outlandish reasons! But seriously, why should a President who knows economics a great deal and is also a tax expert, dissolve the boards of banks and refuse (or is it be unable) to reconstitute those boards four months into his term? The BoG board is an exceptional case.

But take the case of the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), National Investment Bank (NIB), and Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB), just to name a few. Unless of course somebody wants to tell me that the above banks are not-for-profit organizations, it does not make business sense to deny them boards for more than three months.

For the uninformed party supporter who also buys the crap that the chief executive officers (CEOs) can take, in the interim, all the decisions the boards should take, I submit that none of the CEOs of those banks can unilaterally approve facilities beyond the threshold of GH¢50,000.00. Apart from the limitations on loan approvals, the procurement laws limit the CEOs.

But well, like a friend of mine always says, the politicians always look for people who would ensure that they hear no bad news. And I think four years is equal to forty years so there is more time to toy with – December 2012 could well be the most appropriate time to test whether it was politically and economically correct to dissolve those boards and refuse to constitute them four months into your term.

In the mean time, I hope to watch Mr Okudzeto argue his case well in court. And hey you judges too, ‘behave’ when hearing his case! God bless our Homeland Ghana!

Source: Kojo Owusu-Mbire

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