Court places injunction on R&E Grup to construct premix concrete factory
The Accra High Court has placed an injunction on the construction of a premix concrete factory near the St John’s Grammar Senior High School in Accra because of its presumed harm on the health of residents of the area.
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The court, presided over by Mr Justice Daniel Mensah, in the ruling yesterday, held that there was no evidence to show that the company constructing the factory, R&E Grup Limited, had obtained a permit from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to build the factory.
“There is no evidence that the Environmental Protection Agency has assessed the environmental impact of the factory on the community,” the court added.
The interlocutory injunction will be in place until the final determination of a suit (initiated by 48 residents near the St John’s Grammar Senior High School) challenging the siting of the factory in the area.
The 48 residents of the community have, however, been ordered by the court to sign an undertaking which will bind them to pay compensation to R&E Grup Limited in the event the company emerges victorious in the substantive suit.
Application
In its application for interlocutory injunction, the 48 residents claimed that unless the court placed an interlocutory injunction on the factory, R&E Grup Limited would complete the factory “which will be to the detriment of the health of residents in the area.”
R&E Grup, however, claimed that it had invested colossal sums of money into the factory and also made a lot of investments into the area and hence an interlocutory injunction would “occasion a great deal of hardship and irreparable damage to the company.”
Not enough compensation
In the view of the court, the injunction was necessary to protect the health of the residents and their rights until the determination of the suit.
“If the applicants should suffer any health consequences, no award will be enough to compensate them should they win the instant action,” the court said.
Jubilation
Yesterday’s ruling attracted about 100 residents of the area, who were eager to know the fate of the factory and what awaited their community.
Immediately the court delivered the ruling, some of them burst into jubilation.
They were, however, advised by others not to have high expectation as the substantive case was yet to be determined by the court.
Background
In July 2015, the 48 residents initiated a legal action against R&E Grup Limited for embarking on the construction of a pre-mix concrete factory in the area.
Joined to the suit is the Board of Directors of the St John’s Grammar Senior High School, who the residents claimed leased the land to R&E Grup to embark on the project.
Other defendants are the Ghana Education Service (GES), the EPA and the Ga West Municipal Assembly.
The residents, in their writ of summons, claimed that the siting of the factory in their community had placed residents and the students of the school in a “state of anxiety and fear because the environmental hazards of the factory will be harmful to their health and safety.”
They added that the environmental effects of the factory on the residents included “air pollution, high noise level and heavy vehicular traffic.”
The residents averred that the land that was leased by the Board of Directors of the St John’s Grammar to R&E Grup was “unlawful because any land meant for a public school cannot be used for any other purpose.”
They further claimed the company failed to obtain a permit from the EPA and also inform the residents before embarking on the project.
The residents, therefore, wants a perpetual injunction restraining R&E Grup Limited from operating a pre-mix concrete factory or a similar business in the area.
They also want a declaration that the siting of the factory in the area, “without valid permit in a purely residential area, would have dire effects and was, therefore, unlawful.”
The residents are also seeking an order directing the Ga West Municipal Assembly and the EPA to abrogate the lease agreement between the St John’s Grammar School and R&E Grup Limited.
Defence
R&E Grup Company Limited in its defence claimed that the project had been approved by the Ga West Municipal Assembly, and it was in extensive consultation with the EPA and had “almost complied with almost all the requirements.”
According to the company, the area where the factory is being constructed is situated at “the extreme end of the St John’s Grammar Senior High School and the place is being used as a refuse dump and is a hideout for thugs and thieves.”
The company further claimed that it had obtained the consent of the residents of the area after allaying their fears that its activity would not be harmful and, therefore, the 48 people who initiated the action were not true residents of the area.
R&E Grup also averred that as a result of the project it had invested in the construction of several projects for St Johns Grammar Senior High School.