Two students of the University of Ghana, incensed by the decision by management of the institution to effective February 1, this year, charge tolls on vehicle users who use the roads within their campus, have stepped out of the comity of cowards to challenge the decision by the school in court.
Ernest Victor Apau and Musah Mustapha have locked horns with the university management and the Attorney General to challenge the constitutionality of the proposed toll in the Supreme Court.
Their writ of summons dated January 29, 2014, is seeking an order directed at the university to refrain them from charging vehicle users who use the roads, “within 1st Defendant’s campus any road usage and user charges as far as the said charges are not made pursuant to an Act of Parliament in the intendment of Article 174(1) of the Constitution, 1992”.
They are also seeking amongst others, a declaration from the Supreme Court that “upon a true and proper interpretation of Articles 174(1) of the Constitution, 1992; the road usage and user charges 1stDefendant seeks to charge vehicle users who use the roads within 1st Defendant’s campus with effect from the 1st day of February, 2014 amounts to taxation”.
Acting as concerned citizens of the country, the students are also seeking “A declaration that 1st Defendant’s decision to exempt in the interim its members of staff from paying the road usage and user charges it seeks to introduce from the 1st day of February, 2004 is an abuse of its discretionary power in the intendment of Article 296(a) of the Constitution, 1992”.
Counsel for the plaintiffs, Faibille & Faibille, Constance Chambers, is therefore, praying the court to declare “that 1stDefendant’s decision to exempt in the interim its members of staff from paying the road usage and user charges it seeks to introduce from the 1st day of February, 2004 is in violation of Article 17(1) (2) and (3) of the Constitution, 1992”, and “Any other order (s) which this Honourable Court deems just and equitable”.
Meanwhile, this paper gathered as at the time of going to press yesterday that the university management had been served with the writ and that within fourteen (14) days after the service, the university is to “file or cause to be filed for you a statement of the defendant’s case in an action at the Suit…”
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