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This is either a calculated blow or a timeous coincident because with just a few hours to his vetting for the position of Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu’s suitability for the job is being challenged by Member of parliament for Bolgatanga East Dr. Dominic Ayine. The legislator’s basis is that Mr. Amidu is too old to fill the position he has been nominated for. Mr. Amidu is 66 years old but Dr. Ayine believes the age limit for a position like that of the Special Prosecutor is 65. The Bolga East MP’s position is contained in suit filed on his behalf by his lawyer Tony Lithur. Dr. Ayine in the suit argues that 190(1)(d), 199(4) and 295 of the 1992 Constitution puts the retirement age at 60 with room for an extra 5 years. According to him, a careful reading of the constitutional provisions in question means no person in public office can occupy it beyond 65 years. The Bolga East MP also argues that the appointment of Mr. Amidu is inconsistent with Section 13 (3) of the Office ...

Months after raising serious issues with the mining of salt in the Keta Lagoon Ramsar site in a case filed at the Supreme Court, the people of Anlo are yet to receive a response from the state. Gold News checks have shown that the state led by the Attorney General is still yet to file its responses despite the belief by the people of Anlo that the continuous salt mining in the Keta Lagoon by the two companies would only wreak havoc on the environment. The Anlo Youth Council (AYC) in August 2017 dragged the Minerals Commission, Director of Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission and Water Resources Commission to court for licensing two companies Kensington Industries Limited and Seven Seas Salt Limited to exploit and mine salt in the Keta Lagoon without parliamentary approval. The Council argued that the Article 268(1) of the 1992 Constitution mandated the State to ensure that Parliament ratifies such mining rights and concessions. They argued that the State led by the M...

Deputy Attorney has taken to the media to express his unhappiness with Exton Cubic’s elation at yesterday’s ruling on the invalidation of their mining leases by the Minister for lands and Natural Resources. The Court presided over by Justice Kweku Ackaah Boafo yesterday ruled “I am satisfied that the Applicant has succeeded in making a case which calls into question a letter the letter authored by the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources dated September 4, 2017 and for the letter to be brought into this court to be quashed and it is hereby QUASHED accordingly.” The Minister in the said letter invalidated the mining leases granted indigenous mining company Exton Cubic over the bauxite concessions in Kyekyewere, Mpasaso and Kyiraso because the company failed to fulfill the mandatory requirements for the acquisition of these leases. Justice Ackaah-Boafo in his ruling on application for judicial review filed by the company decided “the Minister could not by the stroke of ...

Accra High Court Judge today expressed his surprise at the failure of the Attorney General to hide its bias and vindictiveness towards local mining company Exton Cubic. This is after he found that contents of one of the documents filed by the Attorney General were everything but helpful to the case he was supposed to determine. Exton Cubic filed the certiorari application after the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources wrote a highly publicized letter on September 4, 2017 invoking three separate mining leases granted to the wholly Ghanaian owned company. Exton Cubic in the application challenged the Lands Minister’s power to invalidate the licenses without first seeking the recommendation of the Minerals Commission and giving the lease holders a hearing. Delivering a very eventful decision on the application today, the Presiding Judge Justice Ackaah-Boafo expressed his unhappiness with contents of a supplementary affidavit filed by the Attorney General. Lawye...

An Accra High Court has quashed the September 4, 2017 letter written by Lands and Natural Resources Minister John Peter Amewu revoking three mining leases granted to local mining company Exton Cubic According to the Presiding Judge Justice Kweku Ackaah-Boafo the Minister had no power to declare the leases granted by his predecessor on December 28, 2016 invalid. He said in making such a decision the judge arrogated to himself the power of an adjudicator. John Peter Amewu in the said letter claimed that his decision was based on the failure of Exton Cubic to fullfil the requirements for the acquisition of the leases. Justice Ackaah-Boafo however ruled that the Minister in the said letter failed to clearly state the law that granted him his powers to invalidate a mining lease. The Judge ruled that the power to invalidate a mining can only be exercised a judicial body. "The Minister could not by a stroke of a pen declare a lease invalid," the justice emphasized. He furthe...

Tomorrow, February 8, 2017, whiles the attention of the entire nation would be on the State of the Nations address, a High Court Justice Kweku Tawiah Ackaah-Boafo would be determining the propriety of the decision by government to revoke Exton Cubic’s bauxite mining lease. In what can be described as a series of bizarre events that started with the accosting and seizure of the equipments of the indigenous mining company by some youth on the instruction of the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Atwima Mponua William Darko. Operators of Exton Cubic were on their way to the bauxite concession in Nyinahin when their heavy duty equipments were seized. This incident was followed by a series of bizarre events which saw the Lands and Natural Resources Minister John Peter Amewu make an unbelievable u-turn from confirming that Exton Cubic had leases to the concession to revoking the leases after the Environmental Protection Agency and Minerals Commission turned on him. Whiles the Min...