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             ACTS OF GHANA

                        NATIONAL REDEMPTION COUNCIL DECREE

 

 

TIMBER OPERATIONS (GOVERNMENT PARTICIPATION) DECREE, 1972 (NRCD 139)

As amended

 

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

Section

1. Government to have majority Shareholding in certain Timber Companies.

2. Payment of fair compensation in respect of Government Shares.

3. Government to facilitate Transfer of Monies paid for Government Shares.

4. Each Company to be in charge of the Management of that Company.

5. Transitional Arrangement for Marketing of Trade Marked Timber Products.

6. Employees of Companies not to Suffer Diminution in Conditions of Service.

7. Commissioner to take action to Implement Decree.

8. Offences.

9. Companies to Institute Training Schemes.

10. Interpretation.

11. Commencement.

SCHEDULE

Schedule

WHEREAS it is in the interest of national development and of the well-being of the people of Ghana, and it is in furtherance of the general economic policy of the National Redemption Council of promoting self-reliance, that the State assume a controlling interest in the ownership of the productive facilities employed in the development of the natural resources of Ghana, while at the same time encouraging private participation in such development whether Ghanaian or foreign:

AND WHEREAS it is in the interest of the people of Ghana that the State secure a controlling equity participation in operating timber companies in Ghana:

NOW THEREFORE, in pursuance of the provisions of the National Redemption Council (Establishment) Proclamation, 1972, this Decree is hereby made—

Section 1—Government to have Majority Shareholding in Certain Timber Companies.

(1) With effect from the 1st day of October, 1972, the equity capital in each of the following timber companies, namely—

(a) the Gliksten (West Africa) Limited,

(b) the Takoradi Veneer and Lumber Co. Limited (including the Timber Division of R. T. Briscoe (Ghana) Limited), and

(c) the African Timber and Plywood (Ghana) Limited,

shall be held as respects fifty-five per centum by the Government and as respects forty-five per centum by the minority shareholder of each such company respectively.

(2) The National Redemption Council may by executive instrument apply subsection (1) of this section to any other timber company and in the case of a company to which the said subsection is applied under this subsection, the application shall take effect from such date as may be prescribed in the executive instrument made in relation thereto.

(3) Each of the said companies shall respectively have a governing Board comprising eight members, five of whom shall be appointed by the Government and three by the minority shareholder of each company respectively, and the Chairman of the Board shall be appointed by the Government.

(4) Each Company shall have a Managing Director who shall be appointed by the Government upon the recommendation of the Commissioner responsible for Lands and shall hold office upon the terms and conditions as the Government may determine. [As substituted by Timber Operations (Government Participation) (Amendment) Decree, 1976 (SMCD 9), s. 1(a)]

Section 2—Payment of Fair Compensation in Respect of Government Shares.

(1) The Government shall in accordance with this section pay to the minority shareholder of each of the companies referred to in section 1 respectively fair compensation in respect of the equity capital held by the Government by virtue of this Decree.

(2) In respect of each company the Government shall pay in cedis to the minority shareholder of that company, a sum equal to fifty-five per centum of the total value of assets described in subsection (3) of this section over a period of not less than five years from the commencement of this Decree or as the case may be from the date of commencement of application to that company of subsection (1) of section 1 of this Decree and at an interest rate not exceeding two and a half per centum per annum.

(3) For the purposes of this section the value of the total assets of each company shall be their net book value, that is to say—

(a) fixed assets shall be valued at their original cost less reasonable depreciation up to the date of commencement of this Decree or as the case may be the date of application to the company in question of subsection (1) of section 1 of this Decree; and

(b) current assets shall be valued at their book value less provision for bad and doubtful debts up to the commencement of this Decree or as the case may be the date of application to the company in question of subsection (1) of section 1 of this Decree.

(4) Goodwill and other assets if any not represented in tangible form shall have nil value.

Section 3—Government to Facilitate Transfer of Monies Paid for Government Shares.

The Government shall employ its good offices to ensure that the moneys paid by it under section 2 of this Decree in respect of shares acquired by it under this Decree are transferred as soon as practicable out of Ghana if the persons to whom the moneys are payable are not citizens of Ghana and they request that the moneys should be so transferred.

Section 4—Each Company to be in Charge of the Management of that Company.

The Board of each of the companies mentioned in the Schedule to this Decree shall have general control of the management of each company. [As substituted by Timber Operations (Government Participation) (Amendment) Decree, 1976 (SMCD 9), s. 1(b)]

Section 5—Transitional Arrangement for Marketing of Trade Marked Timber Products.

(1) Where before the commencement of this Decree any of the companies to which subsection (1) of section 1 of this section applies is the owner of any trade mark in respect of any timber product, that company shall, for a period of five years from the commencement of this Decree or as the case may be from the commencement of the application to that company of subsection (1) of section 1 of this Decree, be entitled to export and market any such timber product through its own marketing agents subject to the overall control and direction of the Ghana Timber Marketing Board.

(2) No new trade mark in respect of any timber product shall be acquired without the prior approval of the Ghana Timber Marketing Board.

Section 6—Employees of Companies not to Suffer Diminution in Conditions of Service.

All persons employed by each of the said companies in Ghana in respect of their operations in Ghana shall enjoy terms and conditions of service which are not less favourable than those applicable to them immediately before the commencement of this Decree or the application to the company in question of subsection (1) of section 1 of this Decree as the case may be.

Section 7—Commissioner to take Action to Implement Decree.

(1) The Commissioner responsible for Lands shall take all such measures as may appear to him expedient for ensuring that this Decree is given full effect.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the Commissioner may give such directions as he may consider necessary for giving full effect to this Decree and it shall be the duty of all persons to comply with such directions.

(3) The Commissioner may also under this section by writing, request from any person any information that he may consider necessary for the purposes of this Decree and it shall be the duty of any person requested so to do to produce such information within the time, if any, prescribed by the Commissioner.

Section 8—Offences.

(1) It shall be an offence for any person—

(a) to obstruct directly or indirectly the implementation of the provisions of this Decree, or

(b) to fail to comply with any direction or condition given or imposed by the Commissioner under section 7 or 9 of this Decree, or

(c) to fail to produce any information requested from him by the Commissioner under section 7 or 9 of this Decree or to produce any information in response to such request which he knows to be false or which he has no reason to believe to be true, or

(d) to destroy, falsify or mutilate any records or books of account relating to any matter affected by this Decree.

(2) Any person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) of this section shall be liable to a fine of not less than ¢15,000.00 or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding seven years or to both, and in the case of a continuing offence to a further fine not exceeding ¢1,000.00 in respect of each day on which the offence continues.

(3) Where an offence under this section is committed by a body of persons, then:—

(a) in the case of a body corporate other than a partnership, every Director, Secretary or other officer of that body shall also be guilty of that offence, and

(b) in the case of a partnership, every partner shall also be guilty of that offence:

Provided that no person shall be guilty of an offence by virtue of this subsection if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or consent and that he took all steps necessary having regard to all the circumstances, to prevent the commission of the offence.

Section 9—Companies to Institute Training Schemes.

(1) Each of the said companies shall institute training schemes for Ghanaians which are designed to equip them with all the skills required for the operation and management of those companies within the shortest possible time.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, the Commissioner responsible for Lands may request for any information and impose any conditions which he considers necessary and reasonable, and it shall be the duty of any person concerned to comply with such request and conditions.

Section 10—Interpretation.

In this Decree "minority shareholder" means the persons who were shareholders of each of the companies to which subsection (1) of section 1 of this Decree applies immediately before the commencement of this Decree or as the case may be the date of application of the said subsection to that company.

Section 11—Commencement.

This Decree shall be deemed to have come into force on the 1st day of October, 1972.

SCHEDULE

1. the Gliksten (West Africa) Limited,

2. the Takoradi Veneer and Lumber Co. Limited (including the Timber Division of R. T. Briscoe (Ghana) Limited),

3. the African Timber and Plywood (Ghana) Limited, and

4. the Mim Timber Company Limited. [As Inserted by Timber Operations (Government Participation) (Amendment) Decree, 1976 (SMCD 9)]

 

Made this 28th day of December, 1972.

 

COLONEL I. K. ACHEAMPONG

Chairman of the National Redemption Council

 

Date of Gazette Notification: 29th December, 1972.

amended by

TIMBER OPERATIONS (GOVERNMENT PARTICIPATION) (AMENDMENT) DECREE, 1976 (SMCD 9).1

 

 

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