JUSAG News Stories

SPEECH DELIVERED BY MR. SAMUEL AFOTEY OTU, PRESIDENT OF JUSAG ON THE OCCASION OF THE 2024 STAFF DURBAR HELD AT KUMASI COURT OF APPEAL COMPLEX ON MONDAY11TH DAY OF SEPTEMBER 2024

Your Ladyship Honourable Chief Justice, the Judicial Secretary, the Deputy Judicial Secretary in Charge of the Northern Sector, The Supervising Judge, Justices of the Superior Court, Judges and Magistrates, the Regional Administrative Officer, Directors, Colleague Staff, Members of the Press, Ladies and Gentlemen!

My Lady Honourable Chief Justice, it is a pleasure for me to be granted this opportunity to make this brief submission on this special occasion which happens to be the second durbar since your assumption of office.

My Lady, the staff durbar is an important platform, and the only avenue which affords staff the opportunity to interact directly with the Honourable Chief Justice, hear directly from the Chief Justice, and also give direct feedback to the Chief Justice about issues bothering staff and the work we do. My Lady, despite this objective of the durbar, the structure of the event seems to be defeating the purpose of the event, since staff are made to talk to themselves and later hear from the Chief Justice. I want to humbly use this opportunity to plead with Management to consider restructuring the programme to make ample time for staff to give direct feedback to our mother, the Honourable Chief Justice, so that the communication can be a proper two-way communication.

My lady, one of the feedback from the staff to you is that I should extend our profound gratitude to you for granting the prayer of JUSAG to waive the written examination which was made part this year’s promotion and upgrading exercise. The waiver you granted our members is a demonstration that you are sensitive to the plight of the staff who were apprehensive of the written test because of the timing of it, and for the fact that the paralegal legal training is yet to be fully implemented. My Lady, we implore the Good Lord to bless you with abundance of grace and wisdom.

My Lady, the legal year’s theme; “Building the Pillars of Justice Delivery through Leadership, Innovation and Technology” reflects your vision of building the very foundation on which justice delivery develops into a full structure resilient enough to serve the needs of contemporary times, bolster confidence of the masses we serve and secure for us a peaceful and prosperous nation.

At the heart of transformational leadership is inspiration, empathy, people development, discipline without compromise, and motivation. My Lady, at the launch of the LEADing Justice Initiative, you outlined a number of programmes geared towards staff professional development. Your commitment to the paralegal training underscores your desire to develop the legal professional competence of the judicial service staff. We are thankful for the initiative and are waiting anxiously to take advantage of it. Colleague staff, let’s embrace ourselves for the great vision of the Honourable Lady Chief Justice in this regard.
My Lady, Ladies and Gentlemen, the modern world is built on technology and innovation. The fact that the world has been reduced to mini tech devices on our palms is a wake-up call for us to think technology beyond the tictocking, whatsapping, and the rest. The world of work is now digitalization, and digitalization now drives the world of work. In some countries, manual courts are giving ways to virtual and electronic justice delivery. In Ghana, we have witnessed an upscale in the e-justice project.

Under the distinguished leadership of My Lady Chief Justice, as she builds on the e-justice policy, digital skills are no longer a preserve for only the ICT staff or recorders who work with computers every day in the transcription work. Colleagues, you might have heard of e-filing of cases and processes. Therefore, digital skills are a must for cashiers and process clerks. If you have heard of electronic bailing system, be prepared as a bailiff to equip yourself with digital skills. If you have heard of e-judgment, video conferencing; equip yourself with digital skills. If you have heard of an e-library project, be prepared to embrace yourself with digital skills as a staff of the Judicial Service library. If you have heard of filing online complaints, you must embrace yourself with digital skills as Complaints Officer. If you have heard of digital archives, be prepared to equip yourself with digital skills as archivists in the judicial service.
If you are to excel in the paralegal training, be prepared to familiarize yourself with virtual class or training apps such as the Moodle, Teams, Zoom, etc.

In this legal vacation, I wish to admonish staff and the general public to visit the Judicial Service website (judicial.gov.gh/index.php/virtualcourt) to have a feel of the numerous virtual courts hearing ongoing in Ghana. You will be amazed at the extent to which leadership of the Judicial Service has advanced with digital justice delivery and administration works. We commend my Lady and Management for the progress.

Dear colleagues, whether you are a Regional Admin Officer, Bailiff, Clerk, Interpreter, or works with at theHuman Resource Department, projects and reforms, accounts, audit, etc., the realities of our time are that digital literacy is a mandatory requirement in the discharge of our work and we must embrace it and work towards skills upgrading. Our humble plea to management is that avenues should be provided at the Judicial Training Institute to assist staff upgrade their digital skills.
My Lady, one of the pillars of effective justice delivery that you have championed, is integrity. Staff who fall foul of the staff code of conduct are disciplined in line with the code and the conditions of service. My lady, my executives, and I have travelled around the country as part of our 50th Anniversary regional programmes and sensitization on the Tier 2 pensions. In each of the places we have travelled, I personally use the opportunity to sensitize staff on the need to uphold the standards and code of conducts required of quasi-judicial officers.

I take my time to catalogue various infractions and the penalties staff have suffered for non-compliance. I do so with the hope that, every staff will be inspired to live up to the standard of integrity required of us, so that we can build the pillars of justice not only on leadership, innovation and technology; but also, on integrity which is the lifeblood of justice delivery.

My Lady, much as we appreciate the disciplinary measures taken by management against staff found guilty of violation of the code of conduct, we respectfully wish to implore the Honourable lady Chief Justice to consider the successful appeals of members who have been wrongfully dismissed or sanctioned to be reinstated or have those sanctions reversed. The delay in consideration of the appeal of staff has resulted in serious psychological implications for staff. One instance is a staff whose reinstatement delayed, and he eventually died, probably, out of frustration. There are a number of staff whose faith still hangs, and we wish to passionately appeal for actions to be taken on those pending appeal cases.

My Lady, we are full of commendations for your leadership for the push you have given the Judicial Service Regulation (CI). For over 32 years, Clause 2 of Article 158 which requires a CI to be made to guide our conditions of service has not been complied with. You have made it your priority, and we trust that the process will be completed and your name will be written in gold ink on the hearts of the employees of the Judicial Service of Ghana and JUSAG as a whole. The December elections are fast approaching, and we humbly pray that the intervention of my lady will deliver us the historic CI before the elections.
My Lady, the year 2023, was one of the most difficult moments for us. In the midst of the rising cost of living, the review of salaries and related allowances for staff had delayed, and pressure from staff was unbearable. As the saying goes, ‘a hungry man is an angry man’. JUSAG was compelled to suspend services at a time that our services were needed most. Such a situation was avoidable and should not be repeated in our history.

My Lady, this year, JUSAG has tabled a proposal for review of salaries and related allowances to be implemented in January 2025. I am aware of the speed with which the Judicial Council, which you chair, referred the matter to a committee for consideration. This is a demonstration of your determination not to repeat the mistakes of the past.

My Lady, having toured the country, we could see visibly frustrated faces of staff who are anxious and despondent about the implication of the December general elections on the salaries review. The budget will be read in November 2024. Best fiscal practice requires that approvals for reviews of salaries are completed on time, to be incorporated into be the budget for consideration by Parliament in November 2024 for implementation in January 2025.

My Lady, ladies and gentlemen, election year comes with sensitize electoral disputes which hinges on the security of the entire nation. The Government who is mandated by the Constitution to grant final approval of our salaries review should be minded of this not to unduly delay the process in a manner that may lead to unfavourable industrial action in an election year or post elections. The consequences are dire, and all stakeholders must expedite action to avoid this.

My Lady, as the elections approaches, I wish to admonish myself and all staff that we are Judicial Service staff whose duty is to the law and the judiciary. Our code of conduct strictly prohibits us from engaging in political controversies as that undermines the confidence of the public in the Judiciary. Also, this is the time for us stand firm and uphold the highest standard of professionalism in the discharge of our judicial duties. Let’s not give any politician the chance to soil the name of the judiciary. The judiciary is the last resort for the aggrieved, and we must be the citadel for the aggrieved, the weak, the strong, the marginalized, the rich and the poor, and the ordinary Ghanaian. 

My Lady, the National Executive Council (NEC) of JUSAG wish to commend you for granting us approval for the Climax of the JUSAG'S 50th Anniversary and Extra-Ordinary Delegates Conference which will be held at UCC in Cape Coast from 20th to 22nd September 2024. May I use this opportunity to announce to all staff that they should prepare to receive the best of JUSAG in the golden jubilee cerebration. There will be Quiz titled “What Do You Know About the Judiciary and JUSAG”?, There will be awards, sports, symposium, corporate sessions, policy deliberations, excursion, and other important matters. We shall be live on all our social media platforms.We look forward to welcoming you, as we celebrate the climax of 50 years of championing judicial excellence and upholding staff welfare.

My Lady, Honourable Chief Justice, Justices of the Superior Courts of Judicature, Judges and Magistrates, Directors and Management Members of the Judicial Service, and Colleague Staff, join me wish my lady a blessed birthday in advance. May Our Lord and Master continue to be your guide and guard.
God bless the Honourable Lady Chief Justice, the Judicial Service, the Judiciary, JUSAG, and us all.
Thank you!