July 21, 2022
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The Court of Appeal considered a dispute over control and accountability for the La Pleasure Beach, brought by the La Dadekotopon Youth Association, an incorporated company limited by guarantee whose objectives center on advancing the welfare of La youth. After Ghana Tourism Development Company was ousted in 2001, a 2002 MoU between the La Traditional Council and the Ministry of Tourism required a six-member management committee, which the Youth Association said was never formed as defendants instead ran the Beach from 20032011 without accounting. The High Court granted interlocutory relief and later restrained most defendants, ordered accounting, and directed the Interim Management Committee to continue managing the Beach. On appeal, the Court affirmed the Associations capacity and locus (including third-party beneficiary rights under section 5 of the Contract Act), corrected the trial judges errors about certain defendants pleadings and evidence, upheld injunction and accounting reliefs, but set aside the indefinite mandate of the interim committee, ordering a nine-member committee per the MoU within six months and a temporary continuation only until handover.
KOOMSON J.A,
This is an appeal from the judgment of the High Court, Accra, delivered on the 21st October, 2014. A brief summary of the facts of the case are as stated below.
The Plaintiff/Respondent is a company limited by guarantee. It sued the Defendants/Appellants in respect of the management of the La Pleasure Beach in the High Court, Accra. In this judgment, the Plaintiff/Respondent shall be referred to simply us ‘the Respondent’ and the Defendants/Appellants referred to as ‘the Appellants’.
The claim of the Respondent is that sometime in 2001 the youth of La, dissatisfied with the management of the La Pleasure Beach (‘the Beach’) by Ghana Tourism Development Company, kicked out the Ghana Tourism Development Company (GTDC). Subsequently, a suit was commenced in the High Court, Accra, in Suit No: 1/230/2000, by a quarter chief of the La community against GTDC.
During the pendency of that suit, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) dated 29th April, 2002, was executed between the La Traditional Council and the Ministry of Tourism in April, 2002. The MoU mandated the establishment of a six (6) member Management Committee comprising three (3) members each from the Ministry of Tourism and the La Traditional Council to manage the Beach on terms set out in the MoU.
The Respondent maintain that, the Management Committee was never formed, and instead, the Appellants constituted themselves into the de facto Management Committee and run the Beach without accounting to anyone. This had been the state of affairs of the management of the Beach from 2003 to 2011.
The Respondent seeking to put an end to the purported illegalities of the management of the Beach by Defendants, and to enforce the terms of the MoU claimed the following reliefs in their Writ of Summons and Statement of Claim:
a. Declaration that as the umbrella Association of the La Youth Association it has the right to see the proper management of the La Pleasure Beach and account of all revenue accruing from the operation of the La Pleasure Beach.
b. An order constituting an Interim Management Committee to operate the La Pleasure Beach until the final determination of the suit.
c. An order directed at the Defendants to account for all the revenue generated from the La Pleasure beach from 2003 to 30th November 2011.
d. An order of injunction to restrain the 2nd – 20th Defendants by themselves, agents, assigns, workmen, privies or otherwise howsoever from having anything to do with the management