NTIM v. ACCRA-TEMA CITY COUNCIL AND ANOTHER

ANTERKYI J. addressed a preliminary objection to a negligence suit brought by an injured passenger against a local council and its driver following a November 1965 accident. The council invoked section 133 of the Local Government Act, 1961 (Act 54), which imposes a 12‑month limitation for suits tied to acts done in execution of statutory functions, including a proviso for the continuance of injury or damage. Relying on Carey v. Bermondsey and the Public Authorities Protection Act, 1893, the court interpreted the proviso to mean a continuance of the act causing damage, not ongoing effects of injury. Initially, if the vehicle had been an omnibus operated under the council’s statutory transport function, the suit would have been barred. But counsel clarified the vehicle was a council-owned car used to assist the Organisation of African Unity Conference. The court held that owning and using a non-service car for such purposes falls outside the council’s statutory functions, so section 133 does not apply; the common law six‑year limitation governs. The preliminary objection was overruled, costs were awarded, and the action was ordered to proceed.