The Government of Ghana has announced plans are far advanced to settle the outstanding claims agreed upon with Singaporean oil firm Trafigura as part of the payment schedule for a judgment debt awarded to them for contract termination.
In a press statement following the circulation of a letter by the company to the Ministry of Finance, the latter noted that the government remains committed to honouring its obligations under the Settlement Agreement.
“The Ministry of Finance wishes to state that we have made the necessary arrangements to pay off the outstanding claims agreed with Trafigura after several rounds of negotiations. We are therefore surprised at the circulation of this letter on social media.”
Letter
In the letter addressed to the Finance Minister, Hon Mohammed Amin Adam, the company threatened to seize Ghana’s assets in South Africa if the West African country fails to comply with the agreed payment schedule.
It said it had started the paper and legal work in South Africa as the government had failed to honour his side of the payment terms.
Ghana has a week to execute the settlement agreement or face further enforcement actions, it warned.
Judgment Debt
The Power Purchase Agreement was signed during the Mahama administration in June 2015 to provide 107MW of power and to be completed by mid-2018 but before 2018, the contract was terminated by the Akufo-Addo administration.
Trafigura’s subsidiary, the Ghana Power Generation Company (GPGC) sought arbitration through the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) tribunal in the United Kingdom (UK) and subsequently obtained a ruling in its favour in 2021 with a judgment debt of US $134 million against Ghana.
Deferment in honouring the judgment debt put Ghana’s High Commission building in the United Kingdom, the commissioner’s residence, the Ghana International Bank building, and other properties at risk.
In a letter dated November 14, 2023, former Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta authorized ₵230, 598,000.00 equivalent to US$20,000,000 as part-payment of the judgment debt.
Source:opemsuo.com