Ghana First Company Ltd Sues Contractors For Defamation

CEO of Ghana First Company Limited, Frank Akuley

Ghana First Company Limited, a multinational waste management company, has slapped a ₵5m defamatory suit against some on three defendants purporting to represent some 130 contractors who have accused the company of scam after failing to complete their contracted projects.

The contractors, in a release published in the Wednesday 28th Edition of the Daily Graphic and publised on starrfmonline.com and ghanaweb.com had described the company as a scam after agitations over payments despite not respecting the stipulations of their contract.

The contractors executing various automated modern toilet facilities across the country for Ghana First Company Limited under a Public Private Partnership with Government of Ghana called for a forensic audit into the establishment of the company allaying claims of being scammed.

“We suggest that government takes the necessary steps to perform a forensic audit on the company. We also plead with the government to intervene as early as possible to avoid another financial scam in the country, because any pending financial scam could be unhealthy for us as a country and it will also create fear and panic in the country going forward which may serve as a threat to foreigners wanting to invest in Ghana," spokesperson of the contractors Yaw Tawiah Dickson said in a statement.

Ghana First Company Limited, angered by the publications, has slapped the defamatory suit against the contractors insisting they aren't scammers to be described as such by the contractors.

The Plaintiff, GFCL, therefore claims that the statements published by the defendants in the Wednesday 28th 2019 edition of the Daily Graphic and further republished on other media platforms, such as Ghanaweb, are defamatory.

An amount of Five Million Ghana Cedis (₵5,000,000) in damages to be suffered by the defendants for the injury caused the plaintiff while at the same time, forcing them to retract their false statement and apologise for their deliberate attempt to stain the company.

The contractors have, up to 8 days after 4th September 2019, to file their defence or face the wrath of the law.