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Chief Justice invites Muntaka over bribery allegation
The Chief Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah assured the general public of addressing the allegations of bribery leveled against a Supreme Court Judge by the Chief Whip of the National Democratic Congress(NDC’s) Chief Whip in Parliament.
Recently, Alhaji Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka in an interview with Accra-based Joy News alleged that a Supreme Court Judge attempted to bribe one of his Members of Parliament on the day of electing the Speaker of Parliament.
He said the Member of Parliament did not fall for it, and voted gallantly for the NDC’s nominee who eventually won the race.
The statement said signed by the Judicial Secretary, Justice Cynthia Pamela Addo,“The Judiciary has noted with grave concern the remarks of Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, Hon Member of Parliament for Asawase, which have been widely published in the media alleging that a Justice of the Supreme Court attempted to bribe a female Member of Parliament to vote for Professor Mike Aaron Oquaye, in the election of a Speaker of the 8th Parliament, which took place on 7th January 2021.
“The general public is hereby assured that Hon Chief Justice considers this allegation of impropriety a matter of grave import to the integrity of the Judiciary.
“The Hon Chief Justice is therefore taking steps to solicit the assistance of Mohammed Muntaka MP, to establish the fact in order that the matter can be dealt with appropriately.”
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
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
