ECG privatisation trial begins

The trial to block the privatisation of ECG resumed on Monday at the High Court after CPP lawyer Bright Akwetey successfully filed pre-trial submissions.

Friday’s sitting, which opened the case for the first time, had cross-examination of first defendant Prof. Akosa that focused on whether government’s intention is actually to privatise ECG.

Akosa testified that having heard on the late news that the USA’s Millennium Development Authority (MiDA) was to receive bids from companies to manage ECG, he was “at a loss why the word privatisation was being played with” and wondered “if you request for private sector participation in a wholly state-owned organisation, whether that does not amount to privatisation or the intent to privatise.”

Asked by the counsel for the defence whether he was aware that the government had signed a compact with MiDA, which is a development assistance programme to Ghana, Akosa said: “Yes, but that shows American interest in development assistance.”

During Monday’s cross-examination, counsel for the defence asked Prof. Akosa whether he was aware that Parliament had approved the compact (agreement) with the USA’s Millennium Development Authority (MIDA) before it was signed by government and whether he did not trust that Parliament had done a thorough job.

Akosa said he was bothered by the word “thorough”, drawing a case from his experience both as a medical director and as a plaintiff in court for the past 7 years over the sale of Ghana Telecom to Vodafone.

In the case of the Ghana Telecom sale, Prof Akosa said that Parliament had failed to detect that Ghana Telecom was being given out for 999 years and that it took a law suit by him [Akosa] and others to point that out.

The trial will continue on May 12th.

The five plaintiffs are Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa, Kingsley Kwasitsu, Naa Kordai Assimeh, Dr Adolf Lutterodt and Dede Amanor-Wilks.

The three defendants are the Minister for Justice & Attorney General, the Minister for Power and the Electricity Company of Ghana.