EXIM BANK TANZANIA APPEALS DECISION BY COMPANY NOT TO PAY DEBT

EXIM Bank Tanzania Limited has moved to the court of appeal to reject a notice of appeal lodged by an investment company, Meis Industries Company Limited, to oppose payments of over 2bn/- loan facility.

Through advocates Mabere Marando and Gabriel Mnyele, the bank filed an application last week, seeking court's intervention for the company's failure to take essential steps in prosecuting the appeal.

"The respondent (Meis Industries Company) has not taken essential step in the proceedings; it has not sought leave to appeal," reads one of the grounds advanced by the bank to support the application.

According to the Bank, the ruling that the respondent wanted to appeal against was appealable only upon securing permission of the court.

The ruling sought to be challenged was given by Judge Robert Makaramba at the High Court's Commercial Division on April 11, this year, allowing attachment of company bank accounts to recover the money

. Judge Makaramba ruled in favour of the Bank, after dismissing grounds of objection raised by the company, opposing execution of decree for payments of 2,049,054,392/62 and 3,250.16 US dollars, arising from a compromise suit.

"The decree holder (Exim Bank) shall proceed with the application for execution dated November 25, 2013, against the second judgment debtor (Meis Industries)," the judge had ruled.

In the application, furthermore, the Bank alleges that since the day the ruling was given, the company has not applied for a copy, proceedings and extracted order for appeal process and served upon the same to the applicant.

Court records show that the Bank had sued Meis Company alongside Tanganyika Investment Company Limited for recovery of a debt the latter had obtained and guaranteed by the former.

On June23, 2009, the parties reached an out of court settlement and a compromised suit was recorded. Thereafter, the court issued a decree to that effect.

It was agreed that in the event of failure by the company to pay the decreed sum within 30 days from the date of filing the compromised suit, the Bank was entitled to execute the decree without further notice. Meis Industries Company failed to satisfy the decree in question within the agreed time.

Thereafter, the Bank filed the application for execution by way of attachment of accounts for the company at the Tanzania Investment Bank (TIB).

The company objected to the application for execution. But upon filing of affidavit and counter affidavit and written submissions on the matter, Judge Makaramba gave the ruling in question, authorising the execution of the decree to proceed as planned.