How Dubik Attempted To Halt Sale Of ECG Containers … at Tema Port but was frustrated

It is emerging that the former Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Samuel Dubik Mahama, took steps to prevent the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) from auctioning containers owned by the company but he was frustrated.

The Chronicle has sighted letters ECG wrote to GRA to halt the auctioning of some of its containers by applying for an extension of time, but several petitions fell on deaf ears.

The ECG, in its efforts to prevent Customs from further auctioning of its containers, complained that even the auction had occurred without a formal notice to ECG.

These letters to the Commissioner General, GRA, and the Director General of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) were all signed by the former Managing Director of ECG, Samuel Dubik Mahama, in his attempts to protect the property of ECG from being auctioned.

 

CONSIGNMENT

The letters sighted by this paper raised issues with some of the consignments specifically mentioning ECG meters. The Chronicle understands that the cargo was contracted by ECG to be supplied by L & R Investment & Trading Limited (Supplier).

The goods were shipped between July 2017 and December 2018 and have remained at the port on arrival due to a contractual dispute between ECG and the supplier. However, the ECG told GRA that the parties had been engaging in an attempt to arrive at a negotiated settlement to enable the clearance of the goods.

 

ESCALATE

On September 16, 2022, the ECG, through its MD, petitioned the Commissioner General, GRA, to escalate “a complaint lodged with the Commissioner, Customs Division, regarding a suspected fraudulent auctioning of some containers at the port of Tema, which have been found to contain electricity meters consigned to Electricity Company of Ghana Limited (ECG) by L & R Investment and Trading Company Limited.”

Mr. Dubik Mahama said he had written to Customs about the issue for two weeks, but did not receive acknowledgement or a response.

“We wish to respectfully express our strong exception to this development, which has brought the negotiation of the dispute between the supplier and ECG to a halt as the parties now have to work on unravelling the circumstances of the purported auction,” ECG wrote.

 

THE FIVE

Mr Dubik Mahama, in that September letter, told the GRA Commissioner General that

ECG received notice of the alleged forfeiture and auctioning of the consignment of meters and caused limited investigations to be conducted into the purported auction.

It was found that five containers were among the auctioned containers.

The five containers are numbered as follows: FSCU6768269, FSCU6810271, FSCU6625289, FSCU6339412 and FSCU6993275. ECG boss then, Mr Dubik Mahama, had the considered view that the purported auctioning of the containers was not proper since no notice was given to either ECG as consignee on record, contrary to the Customs Act, 2015 (Act 891), or to L & R Investment & Trading Limited, the consignor.

The letter thus requested the GRA Commissioner General to investigate the circumstances leading to the auctioning of the containers, adding that the purported auction be set aside or cancelled as void.

On December 19, 2022, three months after petitioning the Commissioner General about the “suspended fraudulent” auction of some of its containers and called for a probe, it had not received any response or outcome of the investigation into the matter.

 

GPHA

Another letter dated December 16, 2022, by the former MD of ECG, Mr Dubik Mahama, formally lodged a complaint to GPHA on the issue. That letter requested from GPHA to provide to ECG the procedures for the release of goods for auction by the ports and cause investigations to be conducted into the circumstances leading to the release and auctioning of the containers.

“The company intends to take all the necessary legal steps to annul the purported auction as void and enforce the remedies available to it for the illicit auction,” ECG added. These consignments had arrived around the times when the ECG and the government of Ghana had abrogated its contract with PDS, and the latter had initiated legal processes for redress under the terms of the deal.

 

EXTENSION

The ECG MD then, Mr Dubik Mahama, in his pursuit to safeguard the consignment of ECG, applied for an extension of time to clear various consignments of goods standing in the name of ECG and/or PDS and requested a halt on any pending auctioning of the said goods/containers.

He said the ECG had been reliably informed that some of its cargo was being processed for auction at a time both parties were solving their disputes.

He indicated that if the exercise was allowed to proceed, it could negatively affect ECG and the government of Ghana’s successful defence against the claims made by PDS.

 

DEMURRAGE

The Customs Act, 2015 (Act 891) provides specific timelines for clearing goods and the auction process in Section 59 and Section 63. There is a 7-day free period from the final vessel’s discharge for goods to be cleared without incurring demurrage.

After the 7-day free period, demurrage charges start accumulating daily, based on the shipping line’s tariff.

Section 59 states that goods must be cleared within 21 days from the date of final discharge.

After 21 days, goods are considered “overstayed cargo” and may be subject to further action, including storage charges or seizure.

Under Section 63, if goods remain uncleared for 60 days, they may be auctioned by GRA.

However, before the auction, the Commissioner-General must give formal notice to the importer, usually through a public notice and direct notification (where possible).

The notice provides a final opportunity for the importer to clear the goods by paying outstanding duties and charges.

The post How Dubik Attempted To Halt Sale Of ECG Containers … at Tema Port but was frustrated appeared first on The Ghanaian Chronicle.

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