• It was a common law principle that “a promise to keep an offer open for a specified period could be withdrawn before the expiration of the time.” (1 Mark)
• This was especially true if no consideration was provided by the promisee for the promise. (1 Mark)
• The courts sought to make changes to this principle, especially in situations where, through some forbearance on the part of the promise, an effort was made to accept the promise. (1 Mark)
• However, this statement is no longer true in Ghana. Section 8(1) of the Contract Act, 1960 (Act 25) states that “a promise to keep an offer open for acceptance for a specified time shall not be invalid as a contract by reason only of the absence of any consideration therefor.” (4 Marks)
• In situations where the promisee may have relied on the offer to keep the offer open and has made efforts to accept the offer, it would not be fair to withdraw the offer or promise midstream only for the reason that no consideration has been offered. (2 Marks)

(Total: 8 marks)