NIB's $700,000 For Akufo-Addo’s Campaign

How NIB Coughed-Up Over $700,000 To Pay Akufo-Addo’s Campaign Cash To Ghana Telecom (Vodafone)

Last Monday, The Catalyst investigations brought to the attention of the Ghanaian public that the National Investment Bank (NIB) under the watch of its former Managing Director (MD), Mr Daniel Charles Gyimah had granted two separate bank guarantees to Sky Telecom in favour of Ghana Telecom (GT)for the provision of IVR and Terminal Services for the Akufo-Addo presidential campaign, and that Sky Telecom defaulted in payment and NIB had to cough-up the money, by two separate court orders, to pay GT.

The substantive amounts involved were US$300,000 and US$350,000 respectively.

In a letter to NIB in January regarding the bank guarantee covering the US$300,000, GT notified the bank of the agreement it entered into in November 2008 with Sky Telecom and said “Ghana Telecommunications Company Limited (hereafter referred to as GT) under which GT agreed to provide them with IVR and Terminal Services.”

The letter indicated to NIB that Sky Telecom was still indebted to GT and therefore “GT has no option but to make claim on the bank guarantee issued in GT’s favour by your bank, on behalf of Sky telecom Ltd. We hereby claim the amount of Three Hundred Thousand United States Dollars (US$300,000.00) guaranteed under the Bank Guarantee dated 10th November, 2008 to offset part of the debt owed GT).”

GT then provided the account number into which the NIB should pay the money as follows: “GT account number 1101263000212 USD, at Ecobank Ghana Ltd, Head Office, 19th Seventh Avenue, Ridge West, Accra”.

The NIB however could not meet its payment obligation under the agreement, so GT decided to go to court to force the bank to pay on behalf of Akufo-Addo’s defaulting Sky telecom.

Consequently, GT had initiated two separate court actions against NIB, the second which involved the second bank guarantee for the US350,000 in favour of GT.

In the first case, GT got judgement in its favour from His Lordship, Justice Amadu Tanko (Mr), sitting in the High Court Commercial Division, Accra on 28th August, 2009 against the defendant (NIB).

a) The court ordered, “The payment of US$300,000.00 (three hundred thousand US Dollars) or its cedi equivalent at the time of payment being the sum guaranteed under a Bank Guarantee by the Defendant.”

NIB was also ordered by the court to pay “Interest on the above sum (US$300,000.00) at the prevailing bank rate of 13% from January from 20th January 2009 being the date of the Invocation of the guarantee until the date of payment being US$26,000.000 (i.e. interest from January 2009 to August 2009). On top of that, the bank also awarded NIB “Cost of Five Thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢5,000)”

Then in the second case, on 2nd September 2009, a High Court Commercial Division, presided over by His Lordship Justice Henry Kwofie, also ruled against NIB in the following terms:

a) The plaintiff recover “The sum of Three hundred and Twenty-Five US Dollars (US$325,000.00) or its Cedi equivalent at the time of payment being the sum guarantee under a Bank Guarantee by the Defendant”

b) (Interest on the above sum at the prevailing bank rate of 13% per anum from 9th December, 2008 being the date of the invocation of the guarantee until the date of payment. (Interest from December 2008 to September 2009 being US31, 687.50).

c) Cost of Five Thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢5,000.00)

Accordingly Solomon Oppong – Twumasi, in a memorandum dated 11th September 2009 signed by him for Head, Legal Department to the Accounts Department of NIB instructed that payment be made to GT covering the two separate bank guarantees granted by the bank in favour of GT.

According to the memorandum, “Ghana Telecom took legal action against NIB Ltd for various sums of moneys in respect of certain guarantees granted by the Bank in its favour.”

Indicating the amounts involved, it stated, “The cases are two involving amounts of US$300, 000.00 and US$350, 000.00 respectively. The court asked the bank to pay cost of US$5000.00 in each case and interest to be calculated at 13% p.a. from January 2009 till the date of final payment on the judgement.”

“Management has given approval for payment orders to be issued to pay Ghana Telecom for the two sums,” the memo further pointed out.

Then in conclusion, this is what it stated, “Please calculate the total sum to be paid in each case to enable the account department issue the payment orders. Please note that the interest calculated should be on the principal sum only exclusive of cost.”

When Sky Telecom defaulted in paying the amounts covered by the bank two bank guarantees, US$300,000 and US$350,000 respectively GT decided to go to court to force the guarantor (NIB) to pay.

An agreement was entered into by Sky Telecom Limited in November 2008 under which Ghana Telecom agreed to provide the former with IVR and Terminal Services for the Akufo-Addo presidential campaign. Sky Telecom however defaulted in payment and NIB had to cough-up the money by a court order.

It will be remembered that the Akufo-Addo campaign took a turn of hi-tech in the round-up to the last elections where Ghanaians received automatic campaign message calls on their mobile phones from Ghana Telecom and other network providers with the voice of Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) presidential candidate in the 2008 elections asking them to vote for him.