Ghana's oil find lights up 'first' legal battle

Even before Ghana lifts its first oil consignment, there is a legal tussle involving one of the upstream oil companies in Takoradi.

A petroleum engineer, Mr. Africanus Mensah, has sued Messrs Alfred Fafali Adagbedu and Keith Gilmor of Seaweld Engineering Limited for allegedly failing to honour their part of a contract entered into with him.

Mr Africanus Mensah is claiming 40% of the company's shares based on an agreement bounding the parties.

Joy FM's Western Regional correspondent Kwaku Owusu Peprah reports that the Plaintiff, Africanus Mensah, is therefore praying a Sekondi High Court to restrain the defendants, Alfred Fafali Adagbedu and Keith Gilmor, from involving themselves in the financial management of Seaweld Engineering Limited.

The plaintiff claimed that the first defendant (Alfred Adagbedu) confessed to him that the company's money is being siphoned into a foreign account.

The court presided over by Justice Anthony Oppong on May 28, 2009 upheld an earlier ruling ordering an independent financial company to oversee the finances of Seaweld Engineering Limited.

According to the facts of the case, Africanus Mensah was instrumental in securing a permit for Seaweld from the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) on the agreement that he gets 40% shares of the company.

Counsel for the plaintiff, Mr Ekow Amoah Sekyi, however said the Mr. Alfred Adagbedu failed to transfer the said 40% shares to his client and accused the director of the company Mr Keith Gilmor of siphoning the company's funds into an offshore account.

But the lawyer for the defendants, Erickson Abeka, argued that the claim by Mr Mensah “has no basis in law” because the company, as a “limited by guarantee” cannot transfer shares to him.

“The argument was signed by one of the directors on behalf of the company and the trust of the argument was that Seaweld Company Limited has agreed to transfer 40% of its shares to Africanus Mensah. But in law, the company itself is not a shareholder; it is the individuals who own shares…the argument has no basis in law.”

He mentioned Alfred and Gideon as the two main shareholders - one has 90% and the other has the remaining 10%.

The court has adjourned the case to June 22nd for both lawyers to provide their evidence.

Story by Isaac Essel