We need more trained legal professionals to consolidate democracy - Speaker advocates

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has advocated the urgent need more trained legal professionals to shape and consolidate the country’s constitutional democracy.

“Democracy is not a straight-jacket system as every society and country is permitted to adopt and adapt to suit your situation, culture, environment and traditions, and that is the cause we have committed ourselves to.

He said as a fledgling democracy, many lawyers were needed at various state agencies to assist in the creation of what he described as democratic culture. That, he said, would assist in fostering healthy “reasoning and controlling of your emotions, passions and civility, and of going by what we have all decided to be governed by”.

Shaping reasoning

Mr Bagbin stated this in a meeting with a delegation from the Ghana School of Law in his office in Parliament. The delegation, led by the Director of Legal Education, Barima Yaw Kodie Oppong, who is also the Director of the Ghana School of Law, called on the Speaker to express their appreciation for aiding the school to acquire a new public address system worth GH¢100,000.

The items are meant to enhance both academic and non-academic events in the school, saving the school the cost of hiring such a system for events.

Let’s build school

Describing the Ghana School of Law as the “first among equals” in Africa, the Speaker said the school had played an immense role as one of the foundation stones for the struggle of independence on the African continent.

He said he felt “sad and my spirit went low” when he visited the school to deliver a paper on “Ethic in the Legal Practice” recently. During the lecture, Mr Bagbin said, he realised that there had been no change since he left the school in 1982.

“With all these rich lawyers in very high positions, how could our school be that low,” he said.

Assurance

Mr Bagbin gave the assurance that he would speak with parliamentarians to see how best they could support the General Legal Council and the Ghana School of Law to expand its infrastructure.

“We will ensure that we make available in the formula of the Common Fund some space for resources to support the construction of new infrastructure in the school. “This is the way to go, and we have done that for the Judiciary, and we will be able, through the formula, to construct a lot of facilities in the Ghana School of Law,” he said. 

Appreciation

Mr Oppong expressed appreciation to the Speaker for aiding the school with the public address system as well as supporting their installations. “We are excited about this gesture because it cost us GH¢10,000 each time we went for a public address system for a programme.

“This is the school that enabled us to become lawyers, but I do not think that there is the need to put pressure on old students, but they can emulate what the Speaker has done voluntarily,” he said.