A High court in Accra (General Jurisdiction 7) has awarded a cost of GH750,000 against ABSA Bank Ghana Limited for defaming Mr Adri Hopson, a real estate developer.

In 2019, Mr Hopson, the plaintiff sold two separate two-bedroom houses to two employees of the Bank, Isaac Quao and Linda Mokeh.

The plaintiff had stated in his writ of summons filed by his lawyer, Nii Kpakpo Samoa Addo that he was subsequently invited by the Greater Accra Regional Police Command to respond to a complaint of fraud lodged against him by the Bank, the defendant, regarding his sale of encumbered properties to its two employees.

Meanwhile, the plaintiff had argued that the properties were not encumbered in any way, therefore, the act of the defendant in lodging a complaint against him was defamatory.

Mr Hopson contends that he was not involved in any contract or transaction with the defendant Bank.

In his judgement on May 22, the presiding judge, Justice Ali Baba Abature held that the complaint of defrauding by false pretences lodged against the plaintiff by the defendant Bank was defamatory as it was made out of malice without probable and reasonable cause, thereby harming the reputation of the plaintiff as a successful and respected. businessman.

Justice Abature stated that the two workers of the Bank were in occupation of the properties the plaintiff genuinely sold to them, with one of them admitting that she has registered her title to the property she purchased.

Consequently, the judge awarded GH300,000 in general damages to be paid to the plaintiff by the defendant, punitive damages of GH300,000, compensatory damages of GH150,000. and costs, including services cost of GH100,000 against defendant in favour of the plaintiff.

The defendant had told the court that the plaintiff mortgaged the properties he sold to its employees, but Nii Addo, counsel for the plaintiff averred that the
properties the defendant claimed were mortgaged by his client were not the properties sold to the two employees of the defendant.

It was the case of the plaintiff that he dealt with the defendant’s two employees in good faith and did not suppress any material fact from the employees and that malice occurred on the part of the defendant when the complaint of fraud was made to the police with intent to harm his image or reputation.

The defendant, on the other hand, denied all the averments of the plaintiff.

In its statement of defence, ABSA averred that the results of an initial search conducted by its Central Securities Unit (CSU) on the properties sold to its two employees by the plaintiff indicated that there were no encumbrances on the property before it accepted the mentioned employees’ application for a mortgage under its Bank Staff Mortgage Loan Policy.

However, the defendant stated that subsequent investigations at the time the said employees’ mortgage documents were submitted to the Land Title Division for registration of its interest in the properties by virtue of the mortgage loan it granted to the two employees for the purchase of the properties have revealed that the properties the plaintiff sold to its two employees were encumbered as a mortgage had already been registered on the said properties.

Consequently, the defendant’s mortgage interest charge in the two properties could not be registered thereby rendering the mortgage facility it granted to its two mentioned employees unsecure.

As a result, ABSA said its Fraud Risk Management and Investigations Unit was commissioned to conduct forensic investigations into the conduct of the plaintiff, and the investigation report revealed that that the Plaintiff had mortgaged certain properties including the two that Plaintiff sold to its employees to First Trust Savings and Loans for a loan facility.

Defendant therefore lodged a complaint with the Regional Crime Officer of the Greater Accra Regional Police Command to investigate the matter.

BY MALIK SULLEMANA

The recent decision by government to review or decentralize sanitation contracts with Zoomlion Ghana Limited could send the wrong signals to investors and disrupt the gains made in the country’s waste management sector, a senior academic has warned.

Dr. Eric Boachie Yiadom, a Senior Lecturer and Climate Finance and Sustainability Expert at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), has expressed concern over what he describes as unfair treatment of Zoomlion, a subsidiary of the Jospong Group of Companies, by state authorities. 

According to him, the approach could discourage future investments in the sector.

“We need to understand the cycle of industry. An industry has been built up to a certain standard and all that we need to do is to regulate and reduce any monopoly if there is one,” Dr. Boachie Yiadom said. 

According to him, “But to say that you are going to decentralize and allow those without capacity to come in, when a lot of investment has already been made is simply not fair.”

He said when Zoomlion started their operations, Ghanaians gave them the name Borla so Gyata, literally meaning lion of waste dump. “Over the years, they have built a multimillion dollar business with massive investments and if you take away the job, what are they supposed to do with the equipment and the people they have hired and trained over the years?” he quizzed?

Dr. Boachie Yiadom made these remarks during a Panel discussion at the 2025 Environmental and Sustainability Summit held at the Alisa Hotel in Accra on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. 

The event, organized by the Business and Financial Times (B&FT), had the theme “Ending Plastic Waste in Ghana: A Sustainable Future for All.”

The UPSA lecturer questioned the logic of weakening an industry that has taken years to develop. 

He said, “You cannot just go into the waste sector without the infrastructure, the expertise, or the systems. This industry has grown beyond where it used to be. If anything, government should support and help modernize the operations of players like Zoomlion, not weaken them.”

He said just as the oil industry cannot be decentralise for all to partake, so is the waste management industry which has been developed by the Jospong Group.

He called for more coherent national strategies that support long-term sustainability plans, especially for private sector players that have shown commitment to environmental goals.

 According to him, “We talk about sustainability, but are we prepared to support sustainable business models and back them with fiscal incentives? One major thing missing in the conversation is the fiscal aspect that gives tax incentives to those who promote reuse and bring in recyclable materials.”

Dr. Boachie -Yiadom concluded with a call to action: “We should be serious about the things we talk about. It’s not enough to dump the problem somewhere. We must coordinate recycling efforts and support the institutions that have gathered the expertise and built the infrastructure.

” That’s how we’ll attract more investment—not by dismantling what’s already working,” he said.

Ing. Dr. Glenn Gyimah, General Manager of the Green Transitions Office at Jospong Group, revealed that the company is currently implementing a pilot project on single-use plastics in collaboration with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

“In partnership with IRECOP and our Accra plant, we are demonstrating how single-use plastics like PET bottles can be shredded, processed into yarn, and recycled into fibers with high market value,” Dr. Gyimah said. “We’ve proven that our systems work. What we need now is commitment from government and assurance of environmental integrity,” he added.

He noted that the Jospong Group has created a multimillion-dollar enterprise with proven models that require long-term protection and strategic partnerships.

 “In other countries, the private sector receives massive support from government, including funding and regulatory protection. That’s what we need here too,” he said.

Dr. Gyimah added that conversations are ongoing with both local and international off-takers to strengthen Ghana’s recycling value chain and turn waste into economic assets. “We are not just managing waste; we are creating value. And this is a capital-intensive industry that needs backing, not disruption.”

Opening the summit, Minister for Environment, Science, and Technology, Murtala Mohammed, acknowledged the urgent need to reduce plastic waste through low-impact urban practices. 

He emphasized the role of circular economy models, calling for a national forum to unite polluters, producers, and policymakers to tackle the plastic menace.

According to the World Bank, Ghana generates approximately 1.1 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, but recycles only five percent of it. 

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) further estimates that over 250,000 tonnes of plastic waste leak into the environment each year clogging drains, polluting freshwater bodies, and contributing to severe flooding in urban centres.