The Value of Arbitral Cases Against Ghana Has Been in Excess of 9 billion A G Reveals

Ghana’s Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, reveals that, the economy of the country was at the verge of collapsing following arbitration claims against the government over the past four years which nearly cost the country a significant amount of $9 billion.

Godfred Dame stated that, Ghana’s economy was saved from collapsing following a timely dismissal of arbitration claims in favour of Ghana.

Mr. Dame said, "Over the past four years, the value of arbitral cases against the Republic has been in excess of $9 billion, and I will cite a few examples to illustrate the point. One such case was the financial claim by ENI Viton against Ghana, which was initially $7 billion and later reduced to $915 million after Ghana successfully challenged the proceedings in court. In fact, any of these amounts could have collapsed the Ghanaian economy."

At a Public Sector law conference held in Accra on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, Mr. Godfred Dame maintains that the economy of the country could cripple if arbitral claims against the government are not properly managed.

“There are certain glaring dangers that I think arbitration portends for Ghana and the developing world which seem to be overlooked. Whilst arbitration is touted to assure neutrality, privacy, and efficiency in the adjudication of disputes, arbitral claims filed against the government, if not diligently managed, tend to collapse the entire Ghanaian economy."

Mr. Dame highlighted some arbitration cases, which included; The Ghana vs. International Finance Corporation (IFC) case (2020) when Ghana was involved in arbitration over a dispute with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which had invested in Ghana’s energy sector.

In 2019, there was a case between Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and Aker Energy, in that case, there was a dispute between the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and Aker Energy, a Norwegian oil organization, over an exploration agreement in the deep-water offshore oil fields.

Also in 2018, Kosmos Energy and the Government of Ghana had a dispute, it was about interpretation and application of certain tax provisions in a contract for offshore oil exploration.

Godfred Dame posited that in a space of four years, arbitral claims against Ghana amounted to over $9billion. He explained that a possible collapse of the country’s economy was averted following the defense by his office.

Mr. Dame further cited a domestic arbitral claim which he said upon successful defense, had warded off GHC10trillion.

“In point of fact, over the past four years, the value of arbitral claims against the Republic has been over US$9Billion. I cite a few examples to illustrate the point:

a.    The financial claim by ENI/Vitol against Ghana was initially US$7Bn and later reduced to US$915Million after a test in the course of the proceedings by Ghana. Any of these amounts (US$7Bn or US$915Million) could have collapsed the Ghanaian economy. By the Grace of God, this financial claim was recently dismissed in its entirety by the international arbitration tribunal.

b.    Cassius Mining Ltd’s claim against the Government of Ghana has a value of about US$300 million.

GCNet’s arbitral claim involves a claim of over GHC4billion (the equivalent of about US$250Million)

The recently filed Eland arbitration claim against Government of Ghana involves a claim for a minimum US$320Million.

These are just a sample of a few of the international arbitration claims against Ghana. Domestically, there have been claims in excess of over GHC10 Trillion successfully defended by the Office of the Attorney-General against the State,” Mr. Dame said.Kobina Darlington/