Order GNPC to present loan agreements to parliament- Lawyer to Supreme Court
According to him, GNPC's practice of borrowing on its own accord contravenes Article 181(3) and (4) of the 1992 Constitution.
A private legal practitioner, Elikplim Agbemava, has sued the Attorney General at the Supreme Court, demanding a declaration that the practice by the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) to borrow huge sums of money on their own is unconstitutional.
According to him, such an act contravenes Article 181(3) and (4) of the 1992 Constitution. The said Articles state:
“No loan shall be raised by the Government on behalf of itself or any other public institution or authority otherwise than by or under the authority of an Act of Parliament.
An Act of Parliament enacted in accordance with clause (3) of this article shall provide-
a.that the terms and conditions of a loan shall be laid before Parliament and shall not come into operation unless they have been approved by a resolution of Parliament; and
b. that any moneys received in respect of that loan shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund and form part of that Fund or into some other public fund of Ghana either existing or created for the purposes of the loan.”
The plaintiff argues that this portion of the law empowers parliament to consider all loan agreements of statutory corporations, of which the GNPC is not an exception.
Mr. Agbemava notes that allowing the GNPC such power to borrow per its powers and discretion makes them somewhat above the law and arbitrary, thus wanting the court to check the same.
He is thus calling on the apex court to declare GNPC’s actions unconstitutional and order all statutory corporations to submit loan agreements to parliament for consideration.
ATTORNEY GENERAL
On its part, the Attorney General, who was opposed to the suit, argued that the GNPC was established for profit-making and thus could borrow on its account without resorting to parliament.
Further, the panel presided over by Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo took turns to question the plaintiff as to whether such a demand would not overburden parliament by creating an absurd situation.
They were also concerned that the law might have envisaged such a situation, thereby pegging such scrutinies by parliament for sums beyond a certain threshold.
Also, their Lordships agreed that the GNPC is a profit-making institution and thus wondered how they could be ordered and expected to present their loan agreements to parliament.
The case has meanwhile been adjourned to March 12, 2024, for the plaintiff to file additional supporting documents and for the state also duly to respond to the same.
