Martin Kpebu has expressed his support for John Mahama’s 24-hour, especially in Ghana’s judiciary.
He underscored that even though he may not support Mahama, the idea is commendable.
He however admitted that the idea may earn the NDC flagbearer some votes.
“I may not support John Mahama but this is a good idea. We all have to be objective. But if he brings an idea that is brilliant and will move Ghana forward, why not? That doesn’t mean we are going to vote for Mahama. Of course, he may win votes from it but the judiciary will need it. The 24-hour will be good. We will need it.”
Martin Kpebu
He however called the Chief Imam, the Christian Council, CSOs, TUC among others to sponsor a third force.
“I support a third force and I keep calling the Christian Council, the Chief Imam, CSOs, TUC, to sponsor a candidate to rival Mahama”, he added.
He further explained that the judiciary has already attempted to run a 24-hour economy.
“So for us, you could say, the judiciary also has tip bits of the 24-hour economy in the context that, the supreme, in a case I did some years ago in 2019, held that if any security agency for that matter arrest a suspect, they must bring that suspect to court within 48 hours.
“So [it] means that for the judiciary, 48 hours is 48 hours. Don’t take out public holidays and weekends and say we don’t work on weekends or holidays. So Chief Justice Annin Yeboah, when he took over from Justice Sophia Akuffo, issued a directive that courts should sit on Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays to be able to dispense justice to accused persons or suspects who were taken in within 48 hours.”
Martin Kpebu
That is the 24-hour economy.
However, Martin Kpebu admitted that there have been challenges in administering it. He further indicated in some places one has to go through a lot of bureaucracy before one gets a court to sit on a Saturday, a Sunday, or a public holiday. He added that a lot of the time, the police themselves don’t even know how to activate it; how to get the registrar to make the court sit on Sunday, Saturday, or a public holiday.
Ghana’s Judiciary And 24-hour Economy
He expressed his hope for how the policy will impact the judiciary as well.
“So I see this 24-hour economy initiative when the policy is fully advertised, I hope to see how they will support the judiciary. Because it was just a directive from the chief justice and implementation has been a problem. So the judiciary itself will benefit from more sensitization and more facilities.
“Especially when you are asking the courts to work 24/7, one of the key things you should be looking out for is how to pay them during that period. Because for some of the times that when the court sat on Saturdays, Sundays, or public holidays, some of the comments I heard were the pay would come in six months. A person comes to work today and because we have not put in enough facilities and logistics to pay them well, the person is paid six months down the line. Very few people will join this productivity revolution.”
Martin Kpebu
Drawing parallels, he cited Singapore, where courts sit in the evening, and emphasized that Ghana could also do the same. He showed how in Singapore citizens can go to court after work due to the judiciary’s 24/7 running.
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