The government is constructing one hundred new courts and bungalows across all 16 regions of the country as part of efforts to enhance and bring justice delivery to the doorstep of all Ghanaians.
The projects, being carried out through the administrator of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) form part of the e-justice system initiative and are designed to leverage technology in the delivery of justice.
The system is expected also to address the challenge posed by the inadequate number of courts resulting in citizens travelling long distances to gain access to courts, which inadvertently weakens the Rule of Law.
60% of these projects have been completed and set for commissioning before the start of the legal year in October while the remaining 40% are expected to be duly completed and commissioned by the end of the first quarter of 2023.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who disclosed this at the 2022 Bar Conference of the Ghana Bar Association on Monday, 12th September 2022 indicated six new regional high courts are also being constructed in the newly created regions of Ahafo, North East, Bono East, Oti, Savannah and Western North.
According to him, the court constructions in Oti, Ahafo and Bono East Regions will be completed and ready for commissioning before October while the other three in North East, Savannah and Western North, which are at 80% complete are expected to be ready in 2023 first quarter.
“A new modern Court of Appeal complex in Kumasi together with 20 townhouses and a guest house to serve as a permanent residence for Court of Appeal Judges based in Kumasi and mandated to handle appeals from the northern sector of the country will also be completed and commissioned before the end of October,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo lamented that as the government continues to implement policies to advance the rule of law and thereby reinforce the confidence of the people and shore up Ghana’s reputation as a country governed by the Rule of Law, some people have made it their political agenda to systematically disparage the image of the Judiciary for selfish, parochial, partisan reasons.
According to him, these are the plaintiffs who go to the highest court of the land and provide the skimpiest set of evidence to back their claims and yet insist their claims be upheld.
President Akufo-Addo averred that despite the elementary violation of the ancient Common Law rules for discharge of the burden of proof that such a result would entail, it is no wonder that their claims were unanimously dismissed 7-0 by the apex court.
“The result of this case is in stark contrast to the result of a similar one in 2013, when the unsuccessful plaintiffs managed to persuade four out of a nine-member court to find for them, and yet, the earlier plaintiffs chose not to wage a political war against the court.”
Ghana, he stressed, is governed in accordance with the Rule of Law and not on the basis of political considerations and urged all, especially lawyers who cherish democracy to say no to such persons and jealously guide the democracy Ghana is building and the democratic way of life the people have chosen.
He pointed out that independent judges administering the law, protecting the human rights of citizens and ensuring public accountability are strong pillars of Ghana’s democracy just as an independent Electoral Commission.
He lamented that the Commission is also an object of the same anti-democratic attacks as those on the judiciary but stressed these attacks have not shaken the confidence of Ghanaians in these institutions and urged genuine democrats to devote their energies to finding ways and means of strengthening the democratic institutions of the republic instead of expending profitless time in undermining them.
Speaking on the climate change phenomenon and the devastation it is wreaking worldwide, President Akufo-Addo indicated that the government has taken strong measures to protect Ghana’s natural resources including lands, water bodies and the environment from the menace of degradation.
He assured the GBA, therefore, of his full support to the Attorney General in his determination to prosecute Aisha Huang and her collaborators who insist on flouting the laws against galamsey and illegal mining.
“I expect if they are found guilty, that the courts will apply the full rigours of the new amended Act 995, which has increased substantially the punishment for breaches of the law,” he stated.