Ghana’s Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has revealed that the country narrowly avoided losing nearly $9 billion in arbitration claims brought against the government over the last four years. Speaking at the Public Sector Lawyers Conference in Accra on Tuesday, Mr. Dame warned that these claims, if upheld, could have significantly impacted Ghana’s economy.

“Over the past four years, the value of arbitral cases against the Republic has been in excess of $9 billion,” he said, highlighting that any one of these claims could have had catastrophic effects on the country’s financial stability. Among the cases, Mr. Dame cited an initial $7 billion claim by ENI Viton, which was later reduced to $915 million after a successful legal challenge by Ghana.

Other notable arbitration cases involved Ghana’s energy sector. In 2020, Ghana faced a dispute with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a major investor in the country’s energy industry. In 2019, a disagreement arose between the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and Norwegian oil firm Aker Energy over an exploration agreement. And in 2018, Kosmos Energy contested tax provisions in a contract related to offshore oil exploration.

Mr. Dame expressed gratitude that these cases were ultimately dismissed.

Source:TheDotNews