Deputy Attorney General is accusing some lawyers in the Exton Cubic case of engaging "false propaganda and deliberate misrepresentation.
Contrary to the victory jubilations by some of the lawyers on the other side and their supporters, Godfred Dame maintains the court ruling is clear- the company, Exton Cubic, does not have the appropriate mining rights to carry out mining activities in the Nyinahini reserve in the Ashanti region.
He said on page 35 of the ruling delivered on Thursday, it is categorically stated that the process leading to the granting of a mining lease in favour of Exton Cubic did not comply with the law.
“The court went further to hold that Exton Cubic does not have the mining right and that the Minerals Commission had no authority whatsoever to grant the mining lease,” he told Evans Mensah on Newsnight on Joy FM.
Mr Dame said the government has nothing to do with the case since the burden of proof lies with Exton Cubic to appeal the ruling.
His only concern with the ruling is the comment by the judge which suggested that the Minister had no authority to, by himself, revoke the mining license.
He did not understand how a person who issues licenses can be told, he does not have the power to revoke same.
On the substantive case however, he was convinced the judge was spot-on with the ruling which declared as illegal the processes under which Exton Cubic acquired its licenses.
The Lands and Natural Resources Minister, John Amewu, last year invalidated the mining leases of the company affiliated with the brother of former president John Mahama.
But an Accra High Court presided over by Justice Kweku Ackah-Boafo held the minister did not have the authority to revoke the licenses of the company.
It further held failure by the minister to give the applicants a fair hearing was unlawful.
Justice Ackah-Boafo, meanwhile, dismissed the injunction order by Exton Cubic restricting the minister of lands and natural resources or his agents from interfering with its acquired rights.
Dame told Joy News: “My only qualm is the whole thing that the Minister cannot on his own write a letter terminating the lease and that he must come to court before terminating the lease,” he said.
He added that the power to grant also implies the power to revoke if necessary.
Explaining the effect of the ruling, he said even though the court ruled that the Minister had no power to revoke the licence on his own, the judge, having looked at the documents and arguments ruled that the mining lease granted cubic is illegal.
He said the government has no reason to appeal the case.
On his part, the counsel for the applicants Edudzi Tamakloe also wants the court’s decision to be a lesson to government officials.
He said they are exceedingly grateful for the court decision because it sounded a note of caution to public officials not to use their office to intimidate others.
“If they want to act, they must do so by within the enabling status that has established the office they occupy.
“The Court rightly pointed out based on the application put before it that the Minister in proceeding to invalidate the mining leases granted to Exton Cubic group without giving them a hearing,” he said.
Source: myjoyonline.com
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