We need new courts not renovations – Justice Anin makes ‘passionate’ plea to district assemblies

Chief Justice nominee, Justice Anin Yeboah, has appealed to district assembly executives to help establish more local courts in the country.

According to him, most court structures, especially circuit courts are dilapidated and therefore need to be replaced with new edifices.

Citing an example, the CJ nominee told the committee about a court in Yendi which is close to 100 years old and gets renovated periodically.

“…as I cited in the Yendi court, it was there for close to about 100 years. You do periodic renovations and that’s it.

To him, that is not enough to only renovate but add to the already existing ones noting that, “districts assemblies should know that it is their business to put up courts for us. In any case, all over the world it is the executive which provides the judiciary with infrastructure.”

He appealed with the committee to encourage the various district assemblies to invest in setting up more courts nationwide.

Aside the building of courts, he further appealed that judges who joined the judiciary late be refurbished with apartments that as a way of motivation.

“Some of them (judges) joined the service late when they are within their 50s and have about four, five children. So then if you want a circuit judge to live comfortably, and you give him maybe four-bedroom flat bungalow, he will be more than okay.

“It is my passionate plea that the district assemblies do more than they are doing,” He told the committee.