General News of Thursday, 11 January 2018

Source: dailyheritage.com.gh

Chief Justice, IGP must be elected – Lawyer

Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo

A legal and governance luminary, Mr Isaac M. Larbi has opined that for Ghana’s democracy to further strive there is the need to amend the 1992 Constitution to ensure that election is held for certain key positions such as the Chief Justice, Inspector General of Police, Speaker of Parliament and all Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives.

He explained that such positions were very critical to stimulate democracy and ensure accountable governance without political influence.

“For Ghana to achieve true democracy, the following positions should be elective; President, Speaker of Parliament, Chief Justice, Inspector General of Police, and all Chief Executives of the District, Municipal and Metropolitan Assemblies.

“Until then, all of us will continue to wallow in political influences of these positions whether direct or indirect. There will be no true independence of these positions until they all become elected positions. We should all be striving for this,” he said.

In an interview, Mr Larbi, founder of Isaac M. Larbi and Okore Chambers said considering the teething challenges that had bedeviled Ghana’s democracy in the 25-year journey, there was the need for constitutional amendment to give power to the people to elect occupants of certain key positions to enable them function satisfactorily without fear, favour or political control to deepen the democracy of the country and facilitate development.