A Fast-Track High Court in Accra Wednesday ordered former President Jerry John Rawlings to seek an out of court settlement in an alleged breach of contract case between a taxi driver and Melbond Microfinance Company.
The taxi driver, Fio Yohannes, who has the backing of the former president prayed the court presided over by Justice Robin Batu to award him damages for breach of contract and loss of income.
He’s demanded to recover an amount of GH¢32,390 plus interest at the prevailing commercial bank rate from February 2015 till final date of payment.
Mr. Rawlings, earlier sought to mediate in the matter for a peaceful resolution in a letter he wrote to the finance company but the company did not cooperate , hence the legal suit against it (Melbond Microfinance Company).
His letter dated February 2, 2015 read in part, “Our office will be grateful if you can urgently look into the matter and review your stance as the economic circumstance of Mr. Yohanes has been negatively affected by your failure to heed his calls for a replacement vehicle. He is only but a poor, vulnerable young man seeking to work hard to sustain his family.”
A statement of claim filed by Yohannes explained he had in May 2013, entered into an agreement with Melbond for the hire purchase of a Nissan Almera vehicle at the sum of GH¢15,172 to operate as a commercial passenger transport, the Daily Graphic online reported.
He was also to pay a total interest of GH¢15,172 under the 30 months long agreement.
He then paid an initial contribution of GH¢2,400 and subsequently made a weekly installment payment of GH¢236.2 for 12 months totaling about GH¢9,140.
After operating the vehicle for a year during which he consistently honoured his obligation to Melbond without fail, the car was involved in an accident and was written off by the insurer, Enterprise Insurance Company Limited (EIC).
The statement of claim said that even though Fio was the one who paid the insurance premiums for the comprehensive insurance cover for the vehicle, EIC on October 17, 2014 paid to Melbond Microfinance, registered as the loss payee on the insurance policy, the full amount recoverable from the insurance policy.
Fio was however told, after several visits to Melbond’s offices at Kaneshie, that rather than a new vehicle to replace the damaged one as stipulated under the terms of the hire purchase agreement, he was due only the initial amount of GH¢2,400 he paid as his contribution towards the purchase of the vehicle.
The taxi driver then petitioned the office of former President Jerry Rawlings to intervene on his behalf but the company ignored appeals from Rawlings’ office, following which Fio engaged a lawyer to pursue his rights.
In court Wednesday, counsel for Fio, Madam Hanifa Yahaya said her attempts to get Melbond to settle the matter amicably, were ignored hence the suit before the court.
Justice Batu said this was a case that should have been settled out of court rather than allow it to waste everybody’s time. He said it should be possible to settle the matter within a day and asked counsel for Melbond Microfinance, John David Merson, what the difficulty was in settling the matter amicably. Merson indicated the company was now prepared to replace the vehicle for Fio.
But Hanifa Yahaya told the court that given the attitude of the company, her client cannot trust the company any longer and wants to sever the relationship.
The parties will return to court on July 23 to report progress or otherwise. Should the parties agree a settlement, the court ordered that a written account to that effect be filed with the court to be deemed a decision of the court.
By: Kasapafmonline.com/Ghana extra file obtained from graphic online
