An international arbitration tribunal in London has ruled in favour of the Republic of Ghana, dismissing claims brought by Ghana Community Network Services Limited (GCNet).
The tribunal’s 202-page award, dated November 18, 2024, marks a significant legal victory for Ghana and includes an order for GCNet to pay $2,185,983.21 in legal fees to the country.
This includes $1,744,050.42 for legal representation and $441,932.79 for expert witness fees, along with simple interest accruing from 30 days after the award at the rate of USD SOFR + 1%.
GCNet, represented by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP, Beyou and Co., and ENS Africa, filed a notice of arbitration on June 30, 2022, challenging the government’s decision to terminate a Service Agreement.
This agreement, initially signed in 2000 and effective from 2002, gave GCNet exclusive rights to operate an electronic customs processing system.
The deal, extended multiple times without statutory approval during the John Mahama administration, was ultimately set to end in December 2023.
Ghana, represented solely by the Office of the Attorney-General led by Godfred Yeboah Dame, argued that the termination was lawful and that the agreed compensation capped any potential damages at $6 million.
The government also refuted GCNet’s claims regarding past losses from customs exemptions and discount policies, asserting these did not breach contractual terms.
The tribunal upheld Ghana’s termination as lawful and found GCNet’s claims for damages to be without merit. It awarded GCNet only $5.4 million as termination compensation, significantly less than the $3.3 billion in damages GCNet initially sought.
The tribunal concluded that GCNet was the “unsuccessful party” and should bear the costs of Ghana’s legal defense.
The decision is seen as a landmark outcome, preventing a significant financial loss for Ghana and affirming the government’s legal stance.