GII partners Judicial Service to combat corruption

The Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), the local chapter of Transparency International, in partnership with the Judicial Service has organized an outreach programme to combat corruption in the judicial system.

The programme seeks to educate the public on the various Anti-Corruption Initiatives undertaken by the Judiciary to curb corruption within the service.

It also intends to strengthen the judiciary integrity and public confidence in the judicial system.

Linda Ofori-Kwafo, the Executive Director of the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), said this at Tarkwa in the Western Region when she delivered the welcome address at a community engagement on judiciary processes and corruption reporting.

She said the initiative formed part of activities under a GIZ funded project dubbed "Increasing citizens power to fight corruption: contribution of the Judicial Service" would help to promote the numerous interventions introduced by the Judiciary to control corruption.

The Executive Director of GII added that the campaign would be used to sensitize the public on judicial processes, functions, and abilities of the Public Relations and Complaints Units (PRCU) set up by the Judicial Service in all the Administrative Center of the country and the process of handling complaints.

She said GII believed that collaboration such as this was what the country needed to build the national integrity system and expressed appreciation to the Chief Justice, Justice Anin Yeboah, and all the leadership of the Judiciary for giving GII the opportunity to embark on this programme in some parts of the country.

Justice John Ekow Mensah, Justice of the High Court, Tarkwa explained that the Judicial Service PRCU was instituted to ensure that any aggrieved citizen who had challenges in court proceedings or was being intimidated could fall on.

"If you have merit in your case, quietly write to the complaints unit of the Judicial Services and whether the person is a judge or officer of the Judicial Service would be called upon to answer the queries," he said.

Justice Mensah said the assurance testified that the Judicial Service was working closely with the GII to increase transparency in the judicial system.