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The Ghanaian government will pay West Blue Ghana 95 million Ghana cedis as repayment of the amount owed for work done by the IT consultancy under the National Single Window and Integrated Risk Management System contract awarded in August 2015.
The payment was not due to an illegal termination, but rather to West Blue being underpaid for work performed during the 2015-2020 contract.
This was contained in a consent judgment filed on July 10, 2024, and adopted as the judgment of the Court.
It is noteworthy that West Blue filed a lawsuit in the Accra High Court on November 14, 2024, asking the court to order the Attorney General (first defendant) and the Ghana Revenue Authority (second defendant) to pay in full the sum of Ghana cedis 289 million, which is the service fees owed.
According to the IT company, the reason for the arrears is that the government (Ministry of Finance and GRA) has failed to pay West Blue the full contract price (from 2015 to 2020) of the fee, which is a fixed percentage of the final invoice cost, insurance and freight (CIF) value of imported goods entering Ghana through seaports, airports and land borders.
Under West Blue’s contract with the government, through the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and GRA, for the provision of a National Single Window and Integrated Risk Management System (NSW Contract), West Blue was to receive a contract price equivalent to 0.35% (zero point three five percent) of the final invoice CIF value of all imports into Ghana through seaports, airports and land borders, which was subsequently reduced to 0.28%.
However, from 2015 until the end of the contract in 2020, the government failed to pay West Blue the full fixed percentage of the final invoice CIF value of imported goods entering Ghana through seaports, airports and land borders.
Consent judgment
West Blue’s case against the government has entered the pre-trial stage, and after multiple appearances before the pre-trial review judge, the parties expressed to the court their desire to resolve the lawsuit through negotiation.
In the consent judgment statement, the Ghanaian government negotiating team, which consisted of officials from the Ministry of Finance, the Ghana Revenue Authority and the Attorney General’s Office, held a series of meetings with West Blue Ghana officials and their lawyers to reach an out-of-court settlement.
At the negotiation meeting, West Blue (the plaintiff) put forward various proposals to substantiate its claim for a total amount of GH¢289,547,825.36 (based on the total final invoice CIF value, assessed CIF, assessed CCVR collections and outstanding claims for GRA-commissioned audit) plus general damages, compensation and costs.
After lengthy deliberations and taking into account the various scenarios presented by both parties, the parties reached an agreement for 95,000,000 Ghana Cedis.
The plaintiff (West Blue) expressed its willingness to accept Ghana Cedis 95,000,000 (net of all taxes) instead of Ghana Cedis 289 million to satisfy all its claims.
The Court therefore entered judgment in favor of West Blue (the Plaintiff) and ordered the Defendant to pay damages in the amount of 95,000,000 Ghana Cedis in full and final satisfaction of the Plaintiff’s claim.
Source: thebftonline.com
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