By Augustus Acquaye
The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, says the government is committed to resolving the myriad of challenges facing the Legal Aid Commission, (LAC), to enable the Commission to effectively assist the vulnerable with legal services.
He said the government would, from next week, present the LAC with 14 vehicles to augment its fleet for effective service delivery.
According to him, the 14 vehicles were part of the 90 newly acquired vehicles which would be distributed to the various agencies under the A-G’s Department and Ministry of Justice.
The government, he added, would, from 2023, also start the construction of a Head Office Complex for the LAC to address the lack of office space that had bedeviled the Commission for years.
“In the meantime, the government will provide the Commission with resources to refurbish its current Head Office to give it a befitting status”.
Mr. Dame made this known when he paid a working visit to the Head Office of the LAC and the Council on Law Reporting (CLR) in Accra.
He was accompanied by his two deputies — Mr. Alfred Tuah-Yeboah and Ms. Diana Asonaba Dapaah — and other top officials of the department, including the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mrs. Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa; the Solicitor General, Mrs. Helen Akpene Awo Ziwu, and the Director of the Legislative Drafting Division, Mrs. Mavis Amoa.
Legal Aid Commission:
The Legal Aid Commission, (LAC) was established in fulfilment of Article 294 of the 1992 Constitution, which grants all persons the right to legal aid for the enforcement of their rights or any provision under the 1992 Constitution.
Following the passage of the Legal Aid Commission Act, 2018 (Act 977), the LAC, which used to be known as the Legal Aid Board, became an independent commission with a three-prong mandate to be a public defender (provide free legal services for those in need of it), advise the citizenry on legal issues, as well as provide alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services for the public.
The Head of Administration of the LAC, Mr Sylvester Nyarko Mends, told the A-G and his entourage that the LAC faced serious challenges, with the biggest being limited office space and inadequate staffing.
The Legal Aid Commission currently has its Head Office in the basement of the Head Office of the CLR.
