The Legal Aid Commission fears that its work may come to a halt due to a nationwide shortage of staff.

The commission is responsible for providing free legal services to individuals who cannot afford them.

This came up at the Public Accounts Committee on Wednesday, August 14.

Currently, only 57 lawyers are working at the commission.

Commission's Executive Director, Edmund Amarkwei Foley indicated that "For the upper west, for instance, we have only one lawyer, the regional head, who is the only lawyer there."

Speaking to the members, Mr Foley stated that they are compelled to apply for National Service Personnel to assist with their workload.

"And so definitely a call for more staff is in the right direction. We have written to the National Service Secretariat to specifically assign us service personnel who are LLB graduates as well as lawyers. And going further, we would be having a meeting, a formal meeting with them to conclude an MOU between the two institutions, so that it is done regularly, and that would greatly enhance our staff strength."