Assemblies are drawback on justice delivery

By Ebenezer Hanson

Members of the judiciary have denounced the lukewarm attitude of District Assemblies (DAs) in the provision of infrastructure especially court premises saying that it is a grave setback on justice delivery in the Ghana.

According to them with the exception of just a handful of DAs such as Tepa, Ahafo-North and Nwabiagya, many of the DAs do not care a hoot about their responsibility to provide the needed courts in their districts as their contribution to the administration of justice. They said the DAs prefer putting up markets and toilets believing that those facilities will fetch them some votes.

Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie and Justice Anin Yeboah, both Appeal Court Judges who have been nominated to the Supreme Court by the President, made these disclosures when they took turns before the Appointments Committee of Parliament. Other Justices who also appeared before the Committee were Justice Jones V.M. Dotse and Justice Rose Constance Owusu.

“ The Children’s Act is a masterpiece but for the lack of courts all its provision will amount to nothing. The courts do not matter much to the assemblies, they may like to put up markets and schools to win votes,” said Justice Yeboah.

They argue that the retrogressive disposition of DAs is making the wheels of justice to grind extremely slowly. The courts, the judges say, are crucial to the development of the district and therefore their neglect is rather lamentable.

“ There is a sordid tale of neglect of the judiciary. In certain places the story is incredible; the magistrates sit on verandah while the parties sit on a floor or either under a tree,” Justice Baffoe-Bonnie revealed to the surprise of members of the Freddy Blay-led Appointments Committee.

Both Justices Yeboah and Baffoe-Bonnie therefore appealed to Parliament to effect a variation in the judiciary budgetary arrangements to enable them to retain at least 50% of their Internally Generated Funds (IGF) for there provision of logistics.
“ If 50% of our IGF is granted us for 10 years we will not come back for further requests,” Justice Yeboah assured the Committee.

Hon. Enoch Teye Mensah, MP for Ningo/Prampram, agreed with the plea and even pushed for 100% retention.

But the Minority Leader and Ranking Member of the Committee, Hon. Alban S.K. Bagbin, was not enthused about the blame the judges were apportioning to the DAs pointing out that the call on DAs to provide courts had no legal basis.

However, the judges maintained that in recent times it has become the practice for DAs to provide courts.

Last Tuesday, Parliament unanimously adopted the Appointments Committee Report, which gave its nod to the four nominees. The report, which was signed by Hon. Blay, said the committee had carefully examined the eligibility of nominees for appointment as Justices of the Supreme Court and observed that the nominees were forthright in their answers to questions put them. “ They demonstrated confidence and good knowledge of the law and on relevant issues”.

According to the Committee no adverse reports, petitions or objections were received on any of the nominees.

The Committee noted that all four the four nominees have the requisite qualifications and experience to be appointed to the high office of the Justices of the Supreme Court.

Central among the pertinent questions posed to them by the Committee were public perception about corruption within the judiciary, opinions about Capital Punishment and the enforceability or otherwise of the Directive Principles of State Policy of the 1992 Constitution.

The Committee further observed that all the four nominees “acquitted themselves creditably and actually proved themselves knowledgeable, competent and capable of occupying the positions to which they have been nominated ”.