THE Parliamentary Select Committee on the Judiciary, in collaboration with the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development, is organising a series of public hearings on perceived corruption and other malpractices within the judicial system in the country.

A statement signed by the Clerk to the committee, Mr Frederick K. Nutsugah, and issued in Accra said the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Peter Ala Adjetey, ordered the committee to enquire into the matter of corruption in the Judiciary following a statement by a private member on the floor of Parliament.

It said public concern has been expressed in recent times about perceived corruption within the Judiciary.

It said the impression has created an unfavourable image for the Judiciary which, in turn, negatively affects good governance, democratic consolidation and the prospects for foreign investments in Ghana.

Consequently, the statement said the 21-member committee, under the chairmanship of Mr Kwame Osei Prempeh, MP for Nsuta Kwamang, decided to hold the public hearings and consultations with stakeholders in six selected regions with a view to recording civil society’s opinion on perceived corruption in the Judiciary.

“The committee has, therefore, decided to hold these special sittings for the public hearings and stakeholders’ meetings in six regional capitals, namely Wa, Tamale, Sunyani, Kumasi, Koforidua and Sekondi-Takoradi, between August 26 and September 7, 2002,” it added.

It said the public hearings and stakeholders’ meeting in Wa will be held on August 26 at the District Assembly Hall and the In-Service Training Centre respectively; Tamale on August 28 and 29 at the Picorna Hotel and Gariba Lodge respectively while the hearing and stakeholders’ meeting will be held in Sunyani on August 30 and 31 at the Anglican Church Hall and Electoral Commission conference room respectively.

It said the public hearing and stakeholders’ meeting in Kumasi will be on September 2 and 3 at the GNAT Hall and the Rexmar Hotel respectively, while the Koforidua fora will be held on September 4 and 5 at the SSNIT Conference Room and the Capital View Hotel respectively.

The statement said the GPHA Club House and the Takoradi Beach Hotel will host the Sekondi-Takoradi public hearing and stakeholders meeting respectively on September 7.

It said at each venue, the committee will hold a sitting at which persons who have views to express on the subject will have the opportunity to do so, adding that “there will also be special consultative meetings with other stakeholders drawn from the judicial system and allied organisations from each region”.