The Court of Auditors of São Tomé rejected the request of the Public Ministry (MP), which it considered an “attempt at an inopportune action” to annul the visa for the concession of national ports to the Ghanaian-Angolan Safebond consortium, formalized by the outgoing government.
“The judges advisors of the Court of Auditors (…) decided to reject the request contained in this application from the Public Ministry, regarding the annulment of the visa granted to the concession contract of the ports of Ana Chaves, Fernão Dias and Principe island,” reads the deliberation, written by the president of the institution, Artur Vera Cruz, and approved in plenary by three other judges advisors.
“There is no doubt that the formal and material conditions for the effect are not met, since the application of the Public Ministry now under consideration does not bring to the coalition causes likely to nullify sentences,” he adds.
The ruling also states that “a visa annulment process implies bringing to light new facts related to acts performed by the entity that entered into the contract, which may highlight, among others, the existence of collusion, bribery, influence peddling, prevarication, etc.”
On Tuesday, a judicial source told media that the application for annulment of visa is based on “defect of form and defect in decision making” and that there is a criminal case underway on the file.