Lawyers for Fredco Company Limited are preparing to attach and auction landed properties of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), including its headquarters building at Adum in Kumasi, within the week to defray a debt of GH¢4.3 million owed it by the assembly.
Court officials from the Kumasi High Court (Commercial Division) were on the premises to execute a court order and seize cars belonging to the assembly and which were to be auctioned to defray the debt the assembly owed which it had refused to pay to the company for refuse it cleared from the Kejetia Market Terminal from 2007 to 2012.
This happened after the various bank accounts of the KMA were garnisheed months ago in addition to the seizure of three vehicles belonging to the assembly last Friday.
Briefing the Daily Graphic, the lawyer for the company, Shaddrack Yeboah Obeng, said Fredco had a contract with KMA to collect rubbish heaps at Kejetia. The rubbish collected was weighed and the total quantity collected were recorded by officers of the KMA on a daily basis for accountability purposes.
He explained further that after several unsuccessful attempts to have the KMA pay up, the assembly wrote to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development for assistance but to no avail.
The lawyer said under the circumstances, he received instructions from his clients to resort to the law court.
He said after several court appearances, the lawyers for the KMA agreed that the assembly was liable and would arrange payment terms aimed at defraying the debt it owed. He said this pledge was entered by the court but the assembly had not made any attempt to settle the debt.
Lawyer Yeboah said it had been almost a year now since the KMA promised to pay the amount it owed.
According to him, due to some delay tactics employed by the KMA, the company was left with no choice but to activate the processes in court to retrieve its money.
He said that explained why Fredco, through the court, had gone ahead to garnish the accounts of the assembly. According to him, when it was realised that the amount in the assembly’s account was not enough, the company was compelled once again, through the court, to attach its movable assets.
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