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Political affiliation not considered in appointing judges – GBA
PThe President of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), Yaw Acheampong Boafo, has denied allegations that political affiliation is considered when judges are appointed to the bench.
Speaking at the Ghana Bar Conference in Cape Coast, Boafo said that the allegations are untrue and that judges are appointed based on merit alone.
“It is instructive to state that same as the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court where nominations are made by three parties namely the government represented by the Attorney General, the judiciary, and the Bar, appointments to lower courts bench and high court are pursuant to advertisements in the dailies inviting persons qualified to apply,” he said.
Boafo, who is also a member of the Appointment Committee of the Judicial Council, said that the committee does not ask applicants about their political affiliation.
“There is never a requirement that an applicant has to show his political affiliation,” he added.
Boafo’s comments come amid concerns about the politicization of the judiciary in Ghana. In recent years, there have been several cases of judges being accused of bias in favour of the government.
However, Boafo said that the GBA is committed to ensuring that the judiciary remains independent and impartial.
Credit: Citinewsroom.com
The Member of Parliament for Nsawam Adoagyiri, Frank Annoh Dompreh, has expressed concern over delays in the release of the District Assemblies Common Fund, warning that the situation is stalling development across the country.
On his facebook page, he described as a matter of urgent national importance, the Minority Chief Whip pointed to what he sees as a growing crisis of unpaid contractors, abandoned projects, and halted infrastructure works in many districts.
He noted that several communities are grappling with half completed schools, unfinished health facilities, abandoned markets, deteriorating roads, and stalled sanitation projects.
According to him, many contractors who have executed projects for district assemblies have not been paid, forcing some construction firms to demobilise from sites while workers lose their jobs.
He stressed that the District Assemblies Common Fund is not a discretionary allocation but a constitutional requirement under Article 252 of the 1992 Constitution, intended to support development at the local level.
In his view, years of delayed releases and accumulated arrears have weakened district development financing and disrupted projects meant to improve living conditions in communities.
He further argued that some payments made in recent years were largely the settlement of old debts rather than funding for new or ongoing projects, a situation he believes has affected contractor confidence and local economic activity.
He described the issue as more than a budgetary challenge, characterising it as a development emergency and a governance concern.
He therefore urged the appropriate authorities to pay outstanding DACF arrears, settle contractors who have completed their work, and ensure that transfers to districts are automatic and predictable.
He maintained that decentralisation can only succeed when district assemblies receive adequate and timely funding to carry out development projects.
He emphasised that stalled projects directly affect ordinary citizens, since they rely on such infrastructure for education, healthcare, transportation, sanitation, and economic activities.
He called for renewed attention to grassroots development, insisting that national progress should not be concentrated only in major cities but extended to all communities.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Richard Appiah, the footballer who killed two children and stored part of their bodies in a fridge at Abesim in the Bono Region in 2021 has been handed a lifetime sentence.
This was after a five member panel of judges at the Accra High Court returned a verdict of guilty against the convict.
Appiah, 32, also a draughtsman would spend the rest of his life in prison after he was convicted of murder.
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BY MALIK SULLEMANA
