IT HAS turned out that the Turkish contractor putting up the structure which made the headlines last week was acting lawfully and not in contempt of court.
The Association
International School had earlier filed an application for contempt proceedings
against the contractor for allegedly ignoring a court order to stop work until
a determination of a case it had instituted against it.
A court ruling
signed by Mrs. Olivia Obeng Owusu, a High Court judge, had allowed the contractors,
Kass Plus Limited & Anor, to finish the construction of the reinforced
concrete retaining walls.
“After this is
done, it is to leave the construction site until the application which was
filed on the 23/07/19 has been determined by the substantive judge,” Justice
Olivia Obeng Owusu ruled.
The Turkish
contractor made the headlines last week when the Roads Minister stormed the site
of the construction of a 15-storey structure at the Association International
School area in the Airport Residential Area and ordered the arrest of the CEO
of the construction company, a certain Abdulkadir Yadigar, who, according to
him, had put up a barricade on the road which created a traffic logjam.
It is noteworthy
that a section of the media erroneously reported that the structure was a
22-storey building.
At the police
station, the law enforcement agents observed that a court ruling allowed the construction
of the concrete retaining walls. He was released immediately after he was
brought in to the station.
There is a
pending case in an Accra High Court after the Association International School
had sued the contractors and the Ayawaso West Wuogon Municipal Assembly.
According to
lawyer for the Turkish Company, Samani Zachary, the court found the suit was flawed
because the assembly should have been given a 30-day notice. The court,
therefore, struck the matter off and asked for amendment of the suit
accordingly.
In view of the
danger that could be posed to the public should the retaining concrete wall not
be done, the court ruled as presented in a previous paragraph.
The school
authorities are engaged in a running legal battle with the Turkish contractor
who has enormous investment in the real estate industry and garment sector in
the country.
After his rough engagement
with the minister which went viral on social media, the contractor told the
media, “I believe in Ghana and will continue with my investment in the country.”
