Housing unit for Appeal Court judges commendable

Dear Editor,

Somewhat last week, I read the report about President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo inaugurating a 20-unit residential complex for Justices of the Court of Appeal in Kumasi as part of his recent tour of the Ashanti Region.

The houses, according to the report, would be occupied by Justices serving the Northern Sector of the country, which comprises Ashanti, Bono, Bono East, Ahafo, Savannah, North East, Upper East, Northern and Upper West regions.

The project which was funded through the District Assemblies Common Fund, according to the President was part of efforts by the government to bring justice delivery closer to the people.

I am impressed with the project and its objective but I have heard critics say the President does not deserve praise because he had previously presided over demolition of bungalows housing judges in Accra to make way for construction of the National Cathedral. I find this position rather mischievous.

A member of the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral had once explained that the judges bungalows were dilapidated structures constructed since 1920 hence the decision to pull them down. If the justification for the demolition was anything to go by, then clearly those bungalows had not been renovated and were on the verge of collapse.

It is, therefore, disingenuous to discredit or compare the newly inaugurated housing units in Kumasi with those that were demolished for ‘strategic reasons.’ I do not think we should ‘downgrade’ this massive infrastructural development which would motivate the judiciary to work harder and promote the rule of law, just as the President stated.

Frank Twum Akwaboah

Kukurantumi – Eastern Region