Govt makes proposals on international business transactions

The Cabinet has come up with proposals on international business transactions that should require parliamentary approval and those that should be exempted.

Consequently, it has tasked the Attorney General and Minister of Justice to submit the proposals to Parliament for consideration.

Following recent Supreme Court rulings on judgement debts paid to some companies, Parliament set up a committee to determine the categorisation of international business transactions that requires approval of Parliament and those that should be exempted.

The Supreme Court, on June 14, 2013, ordered a construction firm, Waterville Holdings, to refund to the government all sums paid it in the controversial GH¢51 million judgement debt case.

The court held that the payments involved contracts that required parliamentary approval, a process which was side-stepped, and therefore rendered the contract unconstitutional.

Again, the Supreme Court, on June 21, 2013, ordered Spanish energy company, Isofoton SA, to refund to the Government of Ghana the cedi equivalent of $325,472 it received as judgement debt.

Briefing journalists at the Flagstaff House in Accra yesterday , the Minister of Information and Media Relations, Mr Mahama Ayariga, said the Cabinet, on Thursday, June 28, 2013, proposed that any international business transaction supported by a loan should require parliamentary approval.

Again, the Cabinet proposed that where funds, including funds from the Consolidated Fund, could be used to service the loans for any international business transaction, such a transaction should go to Parliament for approval.

It suggested that where contingent liability could be put on the government, the business transaction should require parliamentary approval.

Besides, the Cabinet was of the view that any business transaction which was defined by law should go to Parliament for approval.

Mr Ayariga said the Cabinet proposed that businesses involving state-owned enterprises should be exempted from going to Parliament.

However, there would be no sovereign guarantee for such business transactions.

The Cabinet again suggested that subsidiary agreements should not go to Parliament for approval, because the master agreements covering them should have gone to Parliament for approval.

Again, the Cabinet was of the view that projects already captured in the budget should not go to Parliament for approval.

However, it indicated that if the costs of projects captured in the budget were beyond a certain amount to be agreed on, then it should require parliamentary approval.

He said the idea was to create the situation for the international business community to have confidence in Ghana, regarding business transactions.

Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru / Daily Graphic