Ghana is divided into districts for easy governance. The political authorities in the districts are the district, municipal and metropolitan assemblies. They are collectively known as local government.
The mayor of Accra is only the executive head of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA). He cannot be sued for his official acts or omissions, but the AMA can!
Under the Local Government Act (the law) in Ghana, all local authorities (including the AMA) have several functions in their areas, including responsibility for:
• Exercising political and administrative authority;
• The overall development of their area;
• Initiating programmes for the development of basic infrastructure;
• The development of human settlements and the environment.
From the above, the construction of drainage in a place like Alajo is the responsibility of the AMA, whether you see it as basic infrastructure or development of a human settlement. It is the AMA’s public duty!
Therefore, if the AMA neglects to perform its duty and floods occur and destroy property, the AMA can be held responsible.
The law provides that the AMA can be sued for an alleged neglect or default of a public duty. However (to explain in simply) the suit must be commenced within 12 months after the occurrence of the act of neglect. If the act is one a one-off act but a continuing act, then you may sue at any time while the act continues, but if the AMA puts a stop to its neglect, then you have 12 months within which to sue them.
Generally, a person in Ghana may sue any other person, including the government (in this case AMA) for compensation as a result of injury or loss suffered by reason of their neglect or breach of a duty.
However, the courts are cautious in awarding compensation against public institutions for fear that it may open the floodgates for practically everybody to sue them.
To answer your question simply, a person cannot sue the mayor but they can sue the AMA. But, to be candid, one’s chances of being awarded any significant compensation are slim.
I hope this answers your question.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Friday, July 30, 2010
No Paternity Leave in Ghana
Let’s start with a definition so that we know we are on the same page.
Parental Leave is an employee benefit that provides for paid or unpaid time off work to care for a child or make arrangements for the child’s welfare. Parental Leave could refer to Maternity, Paternity or Adoption Leave.
The labour laws of Ghana specifically recognise Maternity Leave, but are silent on Paternity Leave. In law, the very fact that Maternity Leave is mentioned specifically means Paternity Leave is excluded specifically.
In practice, some companies give paternity leave, but this is a private arrangement for their employees.
When a family tragedy compels a man to take time off work to go and care for his child, it would more likely fall under “Compassionate Leave” e.g. where his wife has died.
There may be grounds for saying that to the extent that the labours laws provide for maternity leave and exclude paternity leave in all cases, they are unconstitutional. I can understand why in the unfortunate case of a woman losing her life in childbirth and the child surviving, the man should be able to get paternity leave.
A point of interest: it appears that maternity leave is available to only before, during and after childbirth and not generally for women who want to take time off to look after their children.
Parental Leave is an employee benefit that provides for paid or unpaid time off work to care for a child or make arrangements for the child’s welfare. Parental Leave could refer to Maternity, Paternity or Adoption Leave.
The labour laws of Ghana specifically recognise Maternity Leave, but are silent on Paternity Leave. In law, the very fact that Maternity Leave is mentioned specifically means Paternity Leave is excluded specifically.
In practice, some companies give paternity leave, but this is a private arrangement for their employees.
When a family tragedy compels a man to take time off work to go and care for his child, it would more likely fall under “Compassionate Leave” e.g. where his wife has died.
There may be grounds for saying that to the extent that the labours laws provide for maternity leave and exclude paternity leave in all cases, they are unconstitutional. I can understand why in the unfortunate case of a woman losing her life in childbirth and the child surviving, the man should be able to get paternity leave.
A point of interest: it appears that maternity leave is available to only before, during and after childbirth and not generally for women who want to take time off to look after their children.
Why I Stopped Posting?
Well, I stopped posting because this blog is supposed to be reader-led. So the reader asks an everyday-law question, and I try to answer it as quickly as possible. But the rules in Ghana prevent me from advertising this blog, so I have to wait until somebody stumbles upon it. And the questions did not really come. If I get questions, I will answer them.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Additional Note on Children's Rights
The Best Interest Principle
Ghanaian law stipulates that in all matters involving the custody, upbringing, education, care, health, discipline etc, of the child, the best interest of the child is paramount. It is certainly not in the best interest of a child to cut off her education just because she got pregnant.
Ghanaian law stipulates that in all matters involving the custody, upbringing, education, care, health, discipline etc, of the child, the best interest of the child is paramount. It is certainly not in the best interest of a child to cut off her education just because she got pregnant.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Do School Kids have Rights to Privacy, Respect, etc?
I understand you to say that your daughter got pregnant in school. She was subjected to a ‘strip-search’ in front of teachers to determine whether she was pregnant. She was verbally abused by the school authorities. Ultimately, she was expelled from the school.
I shall presume that your daughter was, at the time, below the age of 18. By Ghanaian law, she was a child.
Ghanaian law protects the right of a child to education. It is a fundamental human right. It cannot be taken away from the child, no matter what. Even pregnancy does not derogate from the right. Therefore, the school authorities were wrong to expel your daughter just because she was pregnant. For practical reasons, they may have recommended deferring school for a year for maternity reasons, or even for reasons of not distracting the other children. But dismissal is strong medicine.
A child has the right not to be subjected to any form of cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment. Verbally abusing the child and subjecting them to a public ‘strip-search’ is certainly degrading and inhumane. The school authorities and teachers had absolutely no right to do that.
I have not made the time to research into the subsidiary legislation of the Ghana Education Service, but my answer to you is based on the supreme law – the Constitution, and the Children’s Act. We have condoned the discriminatory act of throwing pregnant girls out of school, while the boys they got pregnant with (if they are boys in school) are allowed to go on and finish their education. It is not constitutional.
You (as guardian of the poor girl) have a cause of action against the School at the Human Rights Division of the High Court.
I shall presume that your daughter was, at the time, below the age of 18. By Ghanaian law, she was a child.
Ghanaian law protects the right of a child to education. It is a fundamental human right. It cannot be taken away from the child, no matter what. Even pregnancy does not derogate from the right. Therefore, the school authorities were wrong to expel your daughter just because she was pregnant. For practical reasons, they may have recommended deferring school for a year for maternity reasons, or even for reasons of not distracting the other children. But dismissal is strong medicine.
A child has the right not to be subjected to any form of cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment. Verbally abusing the child and subjecting them to a public ‘strip-search’ is certainly degrading and inhumane. The school authorities and teachers had absolutely no right to do that.
I have not made the time to research into the subsidiary legislation of the Ghana Education Service, but my answer to you is based on the supreme law – the Constitution, and the Children’s Act. We have condoned the discriminatory act of throwing pregnant girls out of school, while the boys they got pregnant with (if they are boys in school) are allowed to go on and finish their education. It is not constitutional.
You (as guardian of the poor girl) have a cause of action against the School at the Human Rights Division of the High Court.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Taking a Loan in Ghana
A bank loan is usually granted in the form of a contract between the bank and the borrower. A borrower must know the purpose for the loan. It may be agriculture, a mortgage (building), or business. The bank would like to know that your use of the loan money will yield results. Having a purpose also determines which bank you will approach e.g. HFC Bank if you want to acquire a house (mortgage), ADB if you want to engage in agriculture, etc.
There are also “Non-Bank Financial Institutions” like NDK Financial Services and Pro-Credit which can give substantial loans without the traditional bureaucracy of banks.
A lender would (after looking at the purpose of the borrower) typically investigate the creditworthiness of the borrower. Creditworthiness measures the likelihood (from all the circumstances) of the borrower repaying the loan when interest and the principal fall due.
A lender may also include a “Security” section in the contract. The security is the arrangement which allows the lender to take over specified property of a defaulting borrower, and possibly selling such property to recover the amount owed it (the lender) by the borrower.
The range of types of security is quite wide, but it includes:
Mortgage (where the borrower puts up their house as security for the loan)
Hypothecation of Stock (where the borrower takes a loan to trade and puts up the trading stock as security)
Cash Collateral (where the borrower keeps an account with the lender, and is required to keep a minimum amount in it at every point in time)
Guarantee (where another person puts up their property or gives a promise to pay money as security for the loan)
Receivables (where the borrower’s debtors in business are required to pay the debts into a specified account kept by the borrower with the lending bank).
A borrower must take their time to study the contract given them by the bank (and seek independent legal and/or financial advice) before signing the contract. There are other considerations which must be looked at such as administrative fees payable by the borrower, interest, events of default, default interest, provisions for early repayment, etc.
There are also “Non-Bank Financial Institutions” like NDK Financial Services and Pro-Credit which can give substantial loans without the traditional bureaucracy of banks.
A lender would (after looking at the purpose of the borrower) typically investigate the creditworthiness of the borrower. Creditworthiness measures the likelihood (from all the circumstances) of the borrower repaying the loan when interest and the principal fall due.
A lender may also include a “Security” section in the contract. The security is the arrangement which allows the lender to take over specified property of a defaulting borrower, and possibly selling such property to recover the amount owed it (the lender) by the borrower.
The range of types of security is quite wide, but it includes:
Mortgage (where the borrower puts up their house as security for the loan)
Hypothecation of Stock (where the borrower takes a loan to trade and puts up the trading stock as security)
Cash Collateral (where the borrower keeps an account with the lender, and is required to keep a minimum amount in it at every point in time)
Guarantee (where another person puts up their property or gives a promise to pay money as security for the loan)
Receivables (where the borrower’s debtors in business are required to pay the debts into a specified account kept by the borrower with the lending bank).
A borrower must take their time to study the contract given them by the bank (and seek independent legal and/or financial advice) before signing the contract. There are other considerations which must be looked at such as administrative fees payable by the borrower, interest, events of default, default interest, provisions for early repayment, etc.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Making a Will in Ghana
Anybody who is at least 18 years old can make a will. A will disposes of a person’s present property, as well as the property the person may acquire between the time they make their will, and the time they die. This means you do not have to make a will every time you acquire new property.
The person who makes the will is the “testator”. The persons who benefit from “gifts” under the will are “beneficiaries”. A testator must appoint a person or persons in their will who will ensure that their instructions in the will are carried out. These appointees are “executors”. The law does not set a minimum number of executors, but it is wise (and standard practice) to appoint at least 2. An executor must be at least 21 years old. It is wise to appoint as executors people who are significantly younger than the testator.
A will, once made, can be cancelled or amended either entirely, or in part. This can be done by a totally new will or a supplementary document called a “codicil”.
A will must be signed (called execution) by the testator. Execution must take place in the presence of at least 3 people – the testator and at least 2 witnesses. After the testator signs his signature (he thumbprint too) before the witnesses, the witnesses must sign their signatures too (called attesting) in the presence of each other. Note that when a testator is executing by thumbprint, there must be words to the effect that he understood the contents of the will when the testator executed the will. Note that a beneficiary under the will must not also be a witness to its execution.
The safest place to keep a will is in the registry of the High Court. Upon presentation at the High Court, a will is sealed before it goes into storage for safekeeping.
Note that where a testator disinherits their dependants in a will, the High Court has the power to make reasonable provision for such dependants.
Above all, note that, although a person can make their will without engaging a lawyer, they are better off getting a lawyer to draft it the will involves complex instructions, land and houses and “joint gifts”.
The person who makes the will is the “testator”. The persons who benefit from “gifts” under the will are “beneficiaries”. A testator must appoint a person or persons in their will who will ensure that their instructions in the will are carried out. These appointees are “executors”. The law does not set a minimum number of executors, but it is wise (and standard practice) to appoint at least 2. An executor must be at least 21 years old. It is wise to appoint as executors people who are significantly younger than the testator.
A will, once made, can be cancelled or amended either entirely, or in part. This can be done by a totally new will or a supplementary document called a “codicil”.
A will must be signed (called execution) by the testator. Execution must take place in the presence of at least 3 people – the testator and at least 2 witnesses. After the testator signs his signature (he thumbprint too) before the witnesses, the witnesses must sign their signatures too (called attesting) in the presence of each other. Note that when a testator is executing by thumbprint, there must be words to the effect that he understood the contents of the will when the testator executed the will. Note that a beneficiary under the will must not also be a witness to its execution.
The safest place to keep a will is in the registry of the High Court. Upon presentation at the High Court, a will is sealed before it goes into storage for safekeeping.
Note that where a testator disinherits their dependants in a will, the High Court has the power to make reasonable provision for such dependants.
Above all, note that, although a person can make their will without engaging a lawyer, they are better off getting a lawyer to draft it the will involves complex instructions, land and houses and “joint gifts”.
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