THERE WAS drama at the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) Friday afternoon when three Hilux pickups, belonging to the assembly, were impounded following a court order.
The KMA had failed to heed to a court order to pay Freko FD Company Ltd a little over GH¢4 million for a waste collection deal at the Kejetia Bus Terminal, spanning from October 2007 to March 2010.
The Kumasi High Court (Commercial Division) presided over by Justice Kofi Akrowiah, on Friday ordered for the seizure of movable items belonging to the KMA, to be sold to defray the debt.
Considering the huge amount that the KMA owes, additional movable properties of the assembly would be impounded by the bailiffs and the police in the coming days to help defray the debt.
KMA Top Guns Run
Some top officials of the KMA who own vehicles, reportedly moved their vehicles away at top speed to prevent them from being impounded by the bailiffs.
The officials, who are said to be aware of the court order, were said to have been playing hide-and-seek with bailiffs from the high court.
Case
The KMA, after contracting Freko FD Company Ltd to clear waste at the Kumasi Kejetia Bus Terminal from 2007 to 2010 – which amounted to GH¢524,746, refused to settle Freko FD at the completion of the job.
The assembly had reportedly said initially that even though it was aware that Freko FD had successfully carried out the job, it was not supposed to pay the money that the company was demanding.
According to reports, the KMA argued that the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development was rather supposed to pay Freko for the job done, claiming that it (KMA) had no contract with the company.
The managers of the company, who felt cheated, in November 2013 dragged the KMA to the court, where they demanded that the assembly should pay them an amount of GH¢524,746 with interest.
The KMA reportedly started to beat retreat after the case was sent to court as it then agreed that it was supposed to settle the debt and asked for an out-of-court settlement, which the court granted in February 2016.
But after 10 months the assembly had failed to pay Freko the money and so the company went to the court again on Friday and a fresh order was given for movable properties (of the assembly) to be impounded.
KMA’s Response
When Godwin Okumah Nyame, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the KMA was contacted, he said it is a legal issue and so he needed to get in touch with the assembly’s lawyer, Thaddeus Sory, before he could comment on the matter.
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