Attorney General Betty Mould-Iddrissu has given the strongest indication yet that government would deal swiftly with the issue of delayed trial for remand prisoners. The ministry has signed a memorandum of understanding with the various stakeholders to hear cases of remand prisoners, she said. Mrs Mould-Iddrissu was commenting on concerns of congestion in the country’s prisons which was given fresh fodder when officials from the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) visited the Nsawam Medium Security Prisons on Monday. The A-G has condemned the situation but says it would take some time to get to “the crux of the problem.” The issue of longevity of remand prisoners is unacceptable in our society; and I say so on behalf of this government that it is unacceptable,” she said. Mrs Mould-Iddrissu cited poor coordination between police prosecutors, state attorneys and prison officials for such delays “Detectives, the police prosecutors, the attorneys do not talk to each other,” Mrs Mould-Iddrissu stressed. But government is also looking to adopting a broader approach to dealing with the issue and tackling issues of delayed justice from “the basic strata of society,” A-G hinted. For example, the justice system could be streamlined such that a judge would hold police prosecutors accountable if the prosecutors fail to present prisoners to court on a date set by the judge. Some 1554 out of the 3000 prisoners at the Nsawam prisons are on remand and are demanding their immediate trial. They believe their continuous stay in prison without trial is an abuse of their fundamental human rights. The inmates, some of whom have been in prison between three months and 20 years, allege prison officials demand as high as GH¢1,200 from their families before taking them to court. Protecting the rights enshrined in the Constitution and international human rights instruments to which Ghana is signatory requires an effective justice administration system. “The justice delivery difficulties include delays and costs in administration of justice resulting in lack of confidence in the judiciary on the one hand, and inaccessibility of justice and legal institutions to the citizenry, on the other,” the UNDP has identified. Story by Fiifi Koomson/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana