An Israeli company, Gilat Satellite Networks Limited has been sued in a High Court in Ghana together with Ghana?s Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) in connection with a planned VSAT network project for the GCAA.

The plaintiff company, Engineering Systems & Services (ESS) Limited, which is in the business of designing communication networks, construction, integration and consultancy services.

ESS Limited is claiming among others that the two companies GILAT and the GCAA have connived to defraud and cheat it out of its right to participate in the execution of the VSAT project.

ESS Limited had together with GILAT won the bid to execute the project as joint partners following a tender put up by the GCAA in October of 2002. It however claims in court documents that the GCAA and GILAT are, after several meetings to which it was not invited, deciding to exclude it from the contract.

ESS Limited says GILAT and GCAA have been holding secret negotiation meetings despite the fact that ESS Limited is a party to the agreement for the execution of the contract.

They are also accusing the two defendant companies of signing the main contract agreement without following the agreed procedure and in spite of promises to the contrary.

ESS Limited?s chronology of events since October 2002 suggests that GILAT had at various times almost opted out of the contract had it not been its (ESS Limited) perseverance. In their statement of claim, the plaintiff avers that it had to for instance make very great effort to acquire the bid bond when on the eve of submitting the bid, GILAT called from the Israeli base that due to financial problems with its bankers it is unable to provide the bond.

The case is expected to further delay the execution of GCAA?s planned VSAT network project to cover the West African sub-region. When the court is moved, ESS Limited will pray it to issue an order stopping GILAT & GCAA from defrauding and cheating it out of its right to participate in the execution of the project and the revenue that will accrue from the project.

ESS Limited is an Internet Applications Service Provider with lots of big company clients in Ghana and has offices in Maryland USA. ESS Limited?s UCOMGH.COM email/ Internet Service also provide voicemail and unified messaging functionalities. (www.ess-limited.com, www.ucomgh.com)