...Authentic Records Expose Their Fraudulent Claim About �Breach of Contract�!
In spite of documentary evidence to the effect that Waterville wrote to the Government of Ghana on September 15, 2006 �TO ACCEPT THE DECISION OF THE GOVERNMENT TO TERMINATE THE AGREEMENTS� of April 26, 2006 relative to the CAN 2008 rehabilitation of the Ohene Djan, El - Wak and Baba Yara stadia in Accra and Kumasi respectively, the same company (Waterville) is on record four years down the line (July19,2010), as insisting on �A DECLARATION THAT THE PURPORTED TERMINATION OF THE CONTRACTS FOR THE REHABILITATION OF OHENE DJAN, BABA YARA AND EL �WAK STADIA AWARDED TO WATERVILLE HOLDINGS (BVI) LTD ON 26TH APRIL, 2006 IS UNLAWFUL.�
The above demand was part of the reliefs Waterville put forward as part of its claim on the Government of Ghana referred to the �jointly �appointed� sole mediator, Lawyer Ekow Awoonor for mediation on 19th July, 2010 which resulted in a Settlement and Release Agreement dated October 13, 2010.
It was the October 13, 2010 Settlement and Release Agreement which �landed� Waterville a whopping, undeserved Euro 25 million �in full and final settlement of all claims against the GoG in respect of the contracts...�
Flashback to September 15, 2006: The Managing Director of Waterville, Massimo Marca, writing from Lugano, in a letter addressed to the Secretary to Cabinet, Republic of Ghana, Castle, Osu, Accra and copied to the Chief of Staff, Special Assistant to the President, the Attorney-General, Minister of Education, Science & Sports, Minister of Finance& Economic Planning, Chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of CAN 2008, Building Industry Consultant (BIC), Mr Kwame Tetteh-Tetteh & Co, and Waterville Holdings (BVI) Ltd-Accra, unambiguously stated �conscious of the delay that such legality would ensue and the adverse impact upon the CAN 2008 target we decided, without prejudice to our accrued entitlements, TO ACCEPT THE DECISION OF THE GOVERNMENT TO TERMINATE THE AGREEMENTS.�(emphasis NCG)
Indeed The New Crusading Guide (NCG) has sighted a letter dated March 9, 2009 from Tetteh &Co. on behalf of Waterville which was addressed to the Attorney-General and copied to the Minister of Youth &Sports and Waterville Holdings Ltd, in which the signatory, Lawyer Kwame Tetteh, in recalling what had transpired in 2006, stated that �our client moved to site but after substantial execution of the contracts, GOG proposed, and our client ACCEPTED reluctantly in view of time constraints, to hand over each site to Micheletti & Co. and Consar Ltd (together �the sub-contractors�)�.
It is against this backdrop that keen watchers of the Woyome/Waterville saga are questioning the merit of Waterville�s 2009/10 claim for Euro 20 million �AS GENERAL DAMAGES FOR BREACH OF CONTRACT� when they (Waterville) were not minded to exercise that option under the Kufuor Administration and even more crucially had virtually conceded to the �purported termination� in writing in a letter dated September 15, 2006 in spite of an earlier protest in a letter dated August 7, 2006 signed by Lawyer Kwame Tetteh.
Kwame Tetteh�s August 7, 2006 letter of protest which was subsequently subsumed by the September 15, 2006 and March 9, 2009 letters, was in direct response to an August 1, 2006 letter from the then Attorney-General, Mr Joe Ghartey informing Waterville that it had come �to the attention of Cabinet that the primary condition that influenced the Government of Ghana in signing the Contracts had not been fulfilled.
This condition, the engineering of the funding by Waterville, included bridge financing.�
Mr Ghartey continued �Having regard to the undeniable fact that time is of essence, Government of Ghana finds that it has no option but to raise the funding itself. SINCE YOU ARE UNABLE TO SATISFY THE FUNDAMENTAL CONDITION THAT INFLUENCED GOVERNMENT OF GHANA�S DECISION BEING ENGINEERING THE FUNDING, CABINET CANNOT APPROVE THE CONTRACTS AND THEREFORE THE CONTRACTS CANNOT BE EFFECTIVE.�
�We serve you notice and notice is hereby given that since the Contracts did not receive approval from Cabinet in accordance with Clause 17 of the Contracts, the Contracts have never become effective�, concluded Mr Ghartey.
Mr Ghartey had in earlier paragraphs of his August 1, 2006 letter, reminded Waterville that it was clearly understood by reference to Clause 17 of the April 26, 2006 Contracts that the signing of the Contracts did not bring them into effect.
Clause 17, which is published in full on page two (2) of this edition stated among others that � 17.1: This Contract shall become effective at the date of the fulfilment of ALL of the following conditions; 17.1.1: signing of the Contracts by all parties; signing of the Laon Agreement relating to the contracts by the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning; Rendering of a legal opinion by the Ministry of Finance and Approval of the Contract by Cabinet and Parliament of the Republic of Ghana; 17.1.2: Confirmation by the bank holding the Escrow Account to the Contractor that the Escrow Account is established and credited with the total amount of the Contract Price according to Clause 5.�
In spite of the glaring evidence of the non-fulfilment of the conditions precedent by Waterville, the latter was able through the July 2010 mediation process, to get the sole mediator, Ekow Awoonor to recommend to the Mills Administration that they (Waterville) were entitled to among others, �GENERAL DAMAGES FOR BREACH OF CONTRACT INCLUDING �10,000,000.�
According to the Ekow Awoonor Mediation Report �follow further mediation sessions the claimant (Waterville) stated that in spite of its claim for the sum of � 36,684,255.99, it is prepared,as a goodwill gesture, to accept � 32,000,000 as full and final settlement of its claim, including certified works, interest, loss of business profit, GENERAL DAMAGES FOR BREACH OF CONTRACT including mobilization and demobilization and legal fees.�
�Having considered the claims closely, I have recommended to the claimant to accept the sum of �25 million as a final figure for settlement of all its claims without the further time and expense of arbitration. Waterville has accepted and I recommend the acceptance of this figure by MFEP on behalf of GoG,� advised Mr Awoonor.
Mr Awoonor further indicated that he had prevailed on Waterville to accept the payment of �25 million in three (3) tranches, namely �9 million upon the Settlement and Release Agreement, �8 million in January, 2011 and final sum of �8 million in April 2011.
In our subsequent editions, our searchlight will be thrown on the other aspects of the claims made by Waterville �which �landed� it the �25 million under the Mills Administration in addition to the nearly �22 million paid to Micheletti& Co. and Consar by the Kufuor Administration for onward delivery to Waterville.
�Did the Government of Ghana pay the FULL CONTRCAT SUMS FOR ALL the 3 Stadia to Micheletti & Co. and Consar Ltd or NOT? If the FULL CONTRACT SUMS were indeed effected, did Micheletti &Co. and Consar Ltd pay Waterville their entitlements or NOT? And if Waterville indeed had any outstanding entitlements as at January 2009, was the Government of Ghana the legitimate target to pursue for settlement of its claim or Not?�
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