Day: December 16, 2023

Chief Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo has asked the public to help her weed out court officials who demand money before rendering services to them.

She further asked court patrons not to pay unauthorised monies to court officials for services rendered.

According to her, all court officials are paid by the government for their services.?

‘If a court bailiff asks you to pay for transport in order to carry?out service on a client, do not pay for his transport. If a Court registrar assists you to fill a court document do not pay for that.’

Chief Justice Torkornoo said this when she inaugurated the Kotobabi District Court in the Ayawaso Central Municipal Assembly in the Greater Accra Region.

The court formed part of the 100 Courthouses programme undertaken by the government?in the?year 2020 to improve judicial infrastructure.

The Government through the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and District Assemblies Common Fund provided resources for the establishment?of the court.

The modern c
ourt facility has offices for court functions, washrooms for staff and court users, male and female cells, solar power, a standby generator and a borehole to provide sustainable water.

The edifice, which has a dedicated space for Court Connected Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), is to serve Kotobabi and its adjoining communities.

The Chief Justice also used the occasion to embark?on a community sensitisation drive by explaining to the community the functions and processes of the various courts.

Her community sensitisation programme is dubbed:’ Improving Justice Delivery Through Community Engagement.’

Chief Justice Torkornoo said the newly constructed District Court would not be of much use if the administrative staff did not effectively assist the Magistrate to function effectively.

‘To this end, I will urge staff who would be working in this court to exhibit a high level of professionalism in the discharge of their?duties.

I would like to remind staff that most clients who patronize our services ar
e often physically?and emotionally stressed. They need assistance with technicalities as they turn to the courts for justice.’

She urged staff to ensure that the court which served as their first point of contact to present a new and a friendlier face of justice in the municipality.

The Chief Justice noted that the challenge for appropriate infrastructure was acute at the district level, adding ‘we know?that lack of access to justice can lead directly to loss of confidence in the tools of justice.

Because?of this, we must address any challenges to access to justice if we are to provide the necessary guarantees of peace, security,?and investor confidence that the country needs,’ she said.

According to her, the administration of justice should not be left in the hands of lawyers and judges alone and urged the public to take keen interest in all matters relating to administration of justice.

‘If we are to thrive and prosper as a nation, then the law needs to be known, understood, to be applied to all and to
be policed by all.’

She told the community that as citizens, the law was the most potent avenue for the resolution of conflicts, and it was the cornerstone of all modern societies.??

‘This is how the peace that we are so proud?to have in Ghana can be maintained,’ the Chief Justice added.

Mr Achibald Mac Amuasi Cobbina, Ayawaso Central Municipal?Chief Executive Officer, was elated over the establishment of the court in the area.

According to Mr Cobbina, people within the community initially travelled long distances to access justice.

He held that the establishment of the court constituted the ‘decentralisation of justice,’ adding, people in the area would no longer put the law in their hands.

Mr Cobbina pledged the assembly’s continuous support, saying it would ensure that the edifice was regularly maintained.
Source: Ghana News Agency

A Diaspora Engagement Policy has been unveiled at the Office of the President to enable Ghana to build a mutually beneficial relationship with its diaspora populations around the world.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, presenting the concept, explained that the diaspora support was not only for remittances but also for the exchange of knowledge, skills and innovation for long-term investment for sustainable development.

This was made known in a statement issued by Dr Dirk Aßmann, the Country Director of the Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and copied the Ghana News Agency on Friday.

It affirmed: ‘The Diaspora is a bridge that connects us to a wealth of knowledge, skills and connections that can take Ghana to new heights of inclusive development.’

The statement said according to Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, the estimated number of Ghanaians currently living abroad was between 1.5 million and 3 million, and they were found in more than 33 c
ountries worldwide.

‘Despite the impact of the pandemic on global economies, remittances alone to Ghana according to World Bank’s 2021 Migration and Development report shot up by five per cent to US$3.6 billion with Ghana ranking second behind Nigeria in the Sub-Saharan Africa region,’ it stated.

The statement said consequently, the launch of the Diaspora Engagement Policy would facilitate the judicious use of human and material resources of the diaspora for the socio-economic transformation of Ghana.

The launch followed a series of stakeholder engagements and consultations efforts led by the Diaspora Affairs Office of the President and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, supported through capacity development measures, policy advisory and peer-to-peer exchange by the programme ‘Shaping Development-oriented Migration’ (MEG), implemented by GIZ Ghana.

Other partners include the International Organisation for Migration and the Centre for Migration Studies, University of Ghana, the stat
ement said.

It said the Diaspora Engagement Policy represented a momentous milestone in the nation’s developmental trajectory and would remain an initiative that signified the formal introduction and implementation of a comprehensive framework aimed at effectively utilizing the immense economic, socio-cultural and diplomatic power embedded within Ghana’s global diaspora.
Source: Ghana News Agency

A digital taxi service for Ghanaian Taxi Drivers, ‘Tap and Go,’ has been launched in Accra, by the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), in conjunction with the Office of the Vice President.

The Tap and Go, which works like the established taxi apps such as uber, yango, bolt, etc, is being piloted in some parts of Accra (Airport, East Legon, University of Ghana, Circle/Kaneshie area and Dansoman), before it is fully rolled out nationwide next year.

Speaking at the launch of the app in Accra, on Thursday, the National Chairman of the GPRTU, Nana Nimako Bresiamah, said the launch of the app was the result of a collaboration between the GPRTU and Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, whom he said listened to their concerns of losing their businesses to online foreign taxi services.

‘The taxi driving business, as we all know, has been taken online by many foreign companies, and for our members who were still operating the old way, we were gradually getting out of business and the launch of this app, through
the support and efforts of Vice President Bawumia, is a timely intervention to save our business,’ the National Chairman of GPRTU said.

He said following the negative effects of many foreign taxi apps on the operations of Ghanaian taxi drivers, the GPRTU met with Dr. Bawumia to express their concern, and the Vice President assured them of a solution, a promise he said, had been realised.

The Chairman, on behalf of the GPRTU, expressed immense gratitude to Dr. Bawumia for his concern and intervention.

‘We really want to express our utmost gratitude to Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia for the concern he showed when we met him and also intervening on our behalf through this app to aid our business.

‘This is really our own. The other apps are controlled by foreign interests but this is our own and it is truly Ghanaian.’

‘I really want to caution drivers or members of GPRTU not to use the app in a negative way to extort Ghanaians. We want to operate this app effectively and professionally to offer Ghanaian
s great service so that we will continue to protect the integrity of the GPRTU,’ he said.

Many taxi drivers who spoke during the launch, expressed their satisfaction, and commended Vice President Bawumia for supporting them to save their collapsing business.

John Kofi Tawiah, a taxi driver in Kaneshie said: ‘I want to thank Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia for this great initiative.

‘The truth is that we were losing jobs through the many apps. Now we have our own app and this will help us because we will not be roaming around wasting fuel to look for ppassenges.’

Another taxi driver, George Nii Ayi Tagoe, who operates at University of Ghana, Legon Campus, said: ‘we want to thank Dr. Bawumia for getting our taxi business online. For us on Legon campus, this will really help us because we were completely losing business to online taxi apps. Now the competition will be favourable.’

For Samuel Amoah, who is also the Deputy PRO of GPRTU, he was grateful to both the leadership of the GPRTU, as well as the V
ice President, for listening to their concerns and helping them.

‘This is a very good app and we want to express our gratitude to the leadership of the GPRTU for taking this initiative to discuss our plight with Vice President Bawumia. And we thank Dr. Bawumia too for helping us with this Tap and Go app,’ said the Deputy PRO.

He added: ‘We park at the stations for hours without patronage and when they roam around in town too, they waste fuel, due to foreign taxi companies online. This will really help us and we thank the Vice President Bawumia for his intervention.’

The Tap and Go taxi app is uniquely built, with added features, to meet various aspects of Ghanaian taxi service, such as ‘private dropping’ (private cars operating as taxis), and ‘metered service’ (where a passenger instantly stops a taxi in the middle of the road and a meter is turned on to determine the charge), in addition to the usual online service app.

There are two Tap and Go applications: Tap and Go app for users and (Tap n Go Driver)
for interested taxi drivers. Both apps can be downloaded on Google Play Store for android phones and Apple Store, for iPhone users.

Among the requirements for registration for interested taxi drivers, is the Ghana Card, which is to ensure that all drivers in the database can be traced.

Other executives of the GPRTU who were present at the launch were: Godfred Abulbire General Secretary, Emmanuel Nii Ankrah, National Vice Chairman, Jacob Odae National First Trustee, Seth Tetteh Greater Accra Regional Vice Chairman, among others.
Source: Ghana News Agency