A Deputy Communications Minister, George Andah, has denied before an Accra High Court any involvement in negotiations that led to the procurement of the $2.5 million GhanaPost GPS App.
He has thus described as false, malicious and defamatory, an October 2017 Daily Post Newspaper publication to the effect that he negotiated the deal with VOKACOM and consequently caused financial loss to the State.
The Awutu Senya West MP in November 2018, sued Editor of the newspaper, Michael Dokosi, together with publishers of the paper, Giraffe Publications, claiming GHS5 million in damages for harm done to his reputation as a result of the publication.
He also asked for an unqualified apology, a retraction of the publication and a perpetual injunction on the defendants against any such future publications.
His lawyers subsequently applied for an order of substituted service in the Ghanaian Times Newspaper since the defendants could not be found to be served with the writ.
In his Witness Statement admitted in Court on Thursday, July 30, 2020, Mr. Andah lamented that the said publication suggests he is a corrupt individual who engaged in criminal activity with the connivance of VOKACOM to fleece the State.
All of this, he says the publication suggests, was to benefit himself and his cronies.
The court, after taking the examination in chief led by Mr. Andah’s lawyer, Owusu Ankomah Nania Sapi, ordered the parties to file written submissions on the matter before 2nd September 2020.
The court is expected to deliver judgment on 17th December 2020.
The court has also ordered Mr. Andah to post Thursday’s proceedings together with the written submissions and hearing notices on Mr. Michael Dokosi and Giraffe Publications since they were not present in court.
