A member of the legal team of the ruling NDC , Abraham Amaliba says the Ghana Bar Association’s letter detailing horrendous conditions in which judges’ work should be disregarded.
‘The statement which seeks to pitch the judiciary against the executive must be disregarded,’ he demanded. The things the GBA outlined were merely a replay of successive governments’ lack of maintenance culture, he observed, noting however that the tone of the letter attempted to pitch the judiciary against the government.
In a statement issued and jointly signed on June 18 by National President and Secretary of the GBA, Nene Amegatcher and Justin Amenuvor respectively, raised issues with the ‘regrettable’ environment under which the judges work and described their residence as a ‘sorry sight’..
“There were damaged doors, windows, ceiling, tiles, leaking roofs, broken sewage cisterns. The houses were in a state of disrepair which does not befit the residence of members of judicial arm of government. In other places, reptiles crept into the judicial bungalows because of the overgrown environment
“There were cracked walls, leaking roofs, poor sanitation, lack of running water, broken down air conditioners and infrastructureThe security of court documents is compromised because of lack of appropriate storage facilities.’
The situation, according to the GBA, is attributed to government’s failure to release funds for the maintenance and upkeep of the judges.
But sharing his views on the letter, Saturday on Joy FM’s news analysis programme Newsfile, Abraham Amaliba said, ‘The statement has the effect of pitching the judiciary against the executive.’
His inference, he explained, was based on the tone of the letter which he said appears to ‘attack the executive of deliberately’ starving the judiciary of cash to run its affairs. The problem cuts across, he submitted, citing the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) who have also not received their subventions for over six months.
The problem in fact ‘predates this [NDC government’s] regime’, he stated.
However, he conceded that persisting problem reflects the ‘weakness and failure of entire leadership of this country’.
Mr. Amaliba also referred the Ghana Bar Association to a new ‘magnificent’ edifice put up by government to relocate the Cocoa Affairs court from the present colonial relic.
‘The GBA should have acknowledged that edifice and tell people we will be moving in there soon’, he said to defuse the perception that government has done nothing for the judiciary.
Meanwhile, Judicial Secretary Mr. Justice Alex B. Poku-Acheampong has discounted some of the concerns raised by the GBA such as the lack of stationery.
Malik Kweku Baako, Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide, said the Judicial Secretary’s denial of some of the issues exposes the lack of consultation and coordination between the Judicial Council and GBA.
He however prayed the deplorable conditions which have been highlighted and confirmed do not impair their discharge of justice. Judges who feel their environment could affect their delivery should at best excuse themselves from duty, he counseled. Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Isaac Essel | [email protected]
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