Adentan Magistrate Court inaugurated
A new Magistrate Court in the Adentan Municipality in Accra has been inaugurated.
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The court is a component of development projects established in the municipality with the objective of giving the area a cosmopolitan appeal.
At the inaugural ceremony, the Chief Executive (MCE) for the Adentan Municipal Assembly (AdMA), Mr Benjamin Baroson Angenu, said with the court now open, residents stood the chance of having their cases dealt with swiftly and without the bother of travelling distances to attend court in other jurisdictions.
He cautioned criminals and all who flouted the assembly’s bye-laws to be prepared to face the court or else have a change of mind as they would not be spared when caught.
“The ultimate purpose for establishing the court is to afford offenders the opportunity to learn from their mistakes and make amends. I expect that this will go a long way to bring about improvement in service delivery as well as enhance the community’s response to activities that are organised by the assembly,” he said.
Pay rates
Mr Angenu noted that revenue from rates that residents pay was one way of generating income to develop the municipality. He, therefore, urged residents to pay their taxes diligently in order to avoid the unpleasant consequences of being sent to court.
He said it had become necessary for the assembly to rely on its internally generated funds because depending solely on the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) could cause difficulties if the disbursement of funds delayed.
Laudable initiative
The Chief Justice, Justice Mrs Georgina Theodora Wood, noted that the decision to have a magistrate court in the Adentan Municipality was a laudable one as it would reduce delays and costs incurred by residents in seeking justice, especially at the district level.
She urged staff of the court to exhibit high sense of professionalism in the discharge of their duties in order to protect and maintain the good image of the service. She further advised them to desist from all acts that would bring the administration of justice to into disrepute.
The Chief Justice also urged the public to patronise the services of the court and particularly take advantage of its Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanism (ADR) and added that mediators had been trained nationwide for the purpose.
“The ADR has proven to be speedy, cheaper and less laborious as compared to the formal adversarial system,” she noted.