New governments urged not to abrogate agreements

Accra, July 3, GNA - A legal practitioner on Thursday said the failure of successive governments to continue international agreements signed with multi-national companies by previous regimes was a major factor scaring potential investors from the continent.

"Most often than not, where there are sudden interruptions in political governance, projects began by the previous governments grind to a halt for flimsiest of excuses," Mr Sam Okudjeto said, He said this development had forced poorer countries to spend scarce resources, they could otherwise have used in financing their developments to put up huge collateral in order to attract and guarantee the safety of investments that flowed into their economies. He was speaking at a forum on the topic: "Developing joint venture partnership in Africa: Legal implications of international contracts and agreements," at the 12th Annual US-Africa Sister Cities Conference in Accra.

The seven-day conference being attended by about 700 participants from US and other African countries is on the theme, "Strengthening Sister Cities in Africa - A Focus on HIV/AIDS Crises, Business, Trade Investment and Democratic Governance." Mr Okudjeto said the negative trend of unstable and uncertain political environment could be countered through the pursuit of democratic ideals and the rule of law. He said all international business partnerships were associated with risks that were worsened by lack of knowledge of the country, culture, language and laws. Mr Okudjeto therefore, asked investors seeking to run successful joint partnerships to upgrade their knowledge about the workings and operations of the business they wanted to undertake in the foreign countries.

Since disputes might arise from such transactions, there was the need for African governments to establish commercial courts in their countries to deal with any problems that might arise from the execution of such joint ventures. Mr Ambrose Dery, Deputy Attorney-General, said Ghana stood by all international agreements and contracts signed with foreign investors, adding that such laws were recognized as binding and enforceable under both domestic and international laws. Besides the country's courts were also willing and able to enforce the obligations arising from these contracts and agreements with a view to ensuring quick dispensation of justice. Nana Dr S.K.B. Asante said because of the complex nature of joint ventures, it was important to unravel the legal implications of international joint ventures.