AMPOMAH v. VOLTA RIVER AUTHORITY
1989
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
- OSEI-HWERE
- AMPIAH
- ESSIEM JJ.A
Areas of Law
- Property and Real Estate Law
- Employment Law
- Administrative Law
- Civil Procedure
1989
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
Essiem J.A., writing for the Court of Appeal, addressed a dispute between the Volta River Authority (VRA) and a former employee occupying house No. C5 A1-14 in Tema, within a stock of duty-post houses VRA leased from the Tema Development Corporation (TDC). In 1979, following petitions to the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council’s Housing Committee, TDC issued rent cards so VRA workers could pay rent directly and receive a 20% housing allowance. After resigning, the plaintiff claimed these steps made him TDC’s tenant and extinguished VRA’s tenancy; the Circuit Court rejected this, declared VRA the legal tenant, and ordered ejectment. On appeal, the court held the rent card—marked “Institutional House NOT FOR SALE”—conferred no proprietary interest, no offer letter was issued, and TDC’s communications showed no intent to substitute tenants. Exhibit E was merely a policy-implementation request, not a decision under P.N.D.C.L. 83, so section 16 did not bar the counterclaim. The appeal was dismissed; Osei-Hwere J.A. and Ampiah J.A. concurred.
JUDGMENT OF ESSIEM J.A.
The facts in this case may be stated briefly as follows: the defendant-corporation was the tenant of the Tema Development Corporation in respect of certain houses which the defendant used as duty post houses for its employees. The property involved in this litigation is one of such houses.
In 1968 the plaintiff who was then an employee of the defendant stationed at Akosombo, was transferred to Tema. He was given the house in dispute as his duty post house by the defendant-corporation. Rents in respect of the premises were deducted at source by the defendant-corporation which in turn paid the rent due to the Tema Development Corporation.
During the term of office of the erstwhile Armed Forces Revolutionary Council, i.e. June-August 1979, that government directed that all government employers should cease renting houses for their employees. The government further directed that all employees should be paid a monthly rent allowance of twenty per cent of their salary. It appears that the defendant corporation did not comply with this directive. As a result, their employees living in the duty post houses petitioned the government's committee on housing, namely the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council Housing Committee.
As a result of that petition the said committee wrote the following letter dated 10 October 1979 to the managing Director, Tema Development Corporation:
“Dear Sir,
REQUEST FOR RENT CARDS — VOLTA RIVER AUTHORITY
Reference: Volta River Authority Accommodated Staff Letter dated 9 October 1979.
1. In pursuance of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council's directives on the twenty per cent housing allowance to workers, it has been detected with dismay that workers in the [p.31] Volta River Authority have also been cheated by the management for far too long.
2. It is hereby requested that the management of Volta River Authority do comply without delay the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council's housing directives by paying the twenty per cent housing element direct to the aggrieved workers. This would enable those workers to pay rent to the Tema Development Corporation as individuals.
3. It would therefore, be appreciated if appropriate rent cards could be issued by the Tema Development Corporation to those workers.
4. Counting on your co-operation, we remain.
Yours faithfully,
(Sgd)
K. Osei-Boamah
Lieutenant
Chairman, A.F.R.C. Housing Committee.
Copies to:
M. O. I. C.
The Chief Executive, V.R.A. Accra.
Volta R