Nkawkaw Comcentres Association/GT Tussle Still Rages

Chronicle's inquiries into the dispute between the Nkawkaw Communication Centres Association (NCCA) and Ghana Telecommunication Company (GT) which has sent the two parties to the battlefield of the Nkawkaw high court for over a year still lingers.

Even though the previous management headed by the Malaysian managing director has been replaced Chronicle was told that the problems, which brought about the dispute, still persist.

While GT has disconnected the telephone lines belonging to the members of the association - accusing them of failing to settle their bills running into several thousands of cedis - the association, on the other hand, accused the company of using a faulty billing system and insists on itemized billing system.

The situation has brought communication services in Nkawkaw, on of the fast developing commercial towns in the country to almost a halt since most telephone lines are disconnected for over a year now.

After a series of meetings and attempts to settle the dispute had failed, the NCCA went to the Nkawkaw High Court on March 12, last year, and filed a writ praying the court to order GT to rectify its alleged faulty billing system against the association's members, an order compelling the company to cease issuing arbitrary bills to the members of the association, furnish the association with itemized billing for local, trunk and international direct dialing (IDD) calls, an order restraining GT from issuing repeated and over-bloated bills to the members f the association and many other reliefs.

GT entered an appearance on April 3, last year.

Again, another writ was filed by the association praying the court for an order of interim injunction to restrain GT, its workers, officers, servants and privies from disconnecting lines of the members of the association until the determination of the substantive suit and for any order or orders as the court deem fit.

Counsel for GT opposed the application for the interim injunction and questioned the capacity in which the association commenced the action against the company.

The counsel stated in his argument that, "as a matter of law a company registered by guarantee can commence an action by its executive council, that is the only body empowered to take action and not the association.

After a series of arguments and quotation of sections of the law by both counsels to support their claims, the court, presided over by Justice A. K. Amoakwa Boadu, ruled that the association had capacity to commence such an action against the company.

The court later granted the application of the association and went ahead to restrain GT from disconnecting telephone lines belonging to members of the association and also reconnected those already disconnected.

When GT failed to comply with the court's order, the association filed another writ citing GT for contempt.

The court granted the application and three management personnel including the then managing director, Eastern regional head and the Nkawkaw area manager were ordered to appear before the court to answer charges of contempt.

The MD was later acquitted but the two were found liable for contempt.

Not satisfied with the rulings, counsel for GT filed a stay of execution and later went to the Appeals Court to challenge the High Court's ruling.

It is this background, which has set the two parties apart for over a year now thereby bringing commercial communication services in Nkawkaw and its environs to almost a halt.

While the two contending parties are fighting their case in court the business community and the general public have appealed to the government and the new management of Ghana Telecom to see to the settlement of the issue as a matter of urgency since the situation is affecting their day-to-day activities and business transactions.