President Nana Akufo Addo has eulogised the administrator of the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) for the numerous frameworks in the sector.
This followed the fund’s ongoing construction of 100 new courts and bungalows for judges in all 16 regions of the country.
The projects are part of efforts to address the challenges posed by the inadequate number of courts in various parts of the country.
The President commended the DACF during his remarks at the opening of the 2022 Ghana Bar Association Conference held in Ho, Volta Region, on Monday, under the theme “Ghana’s Democracy under the Fourth Republic—Gains, Challenges and Prospects.”
“Government has since my assumption of office introduced a number of policy measures to help bridge the technology gap in the administration of justice.
We have launched the E-justice system which is designed to leverage technology in the delivery of justice. We are also resolving where citizens travel long distances to get access to courts and thereby weakening the rule of law,” the President disclosed.
According to the President, 60% of these courts and bungalows have been completed and will be commissioned before the start of the legal year in October, while the remaining 40% will be duly completed and commissioned at the end of the first quarter of 2023.
Also, “6 new regional high courts are also being constructed in the newly created regions; that is, Ahafo, Bono East, North East, Oti, Savanna and Western North regions.”
He emphasised that three of the courts, in the Ahafo, Bono East, and Oti regions will be completed and ready for commissioning before October, and the other three, which are North East, Savannah and Western North are at 80% completion and will be ready for commissioning by the end of the first quarter of 2023.
“A new modern court of appeal complex in Kumasi, together with 20 town houses and a guest house to serve as a permanent residence for Court of Appeal judges based in Kumasi will be mandated to handle appeals from the northern sector of the country and will also be completed and commissioned before the end of October,” he stated.
Background
The District Assembly Common Fund is established by the District Assembly Common Fund Act 1993 (Act 455) under Article 242. The purpose of setting up this fund is to provide resources to support the developmental activities of the local government. It is a fund created out of the consolidated fund to channel resources from the central government to the local governments for development.
The District Assemblies’ Common Fund (DACF) is a pool of resources created under section 252 of the 1992 Ghana Constitution. It is a minimum of 5% of the national revenue set aside to be shared among all district assemblies in Ghana with a formula approved by Parliament. It is a development fund that enables the use of the nation’s wealth throughout Ghana to the benefit of all citizens.
