Chief Justice, Kwasi Anin-Yeboah, is assuring the Ghanaian citizenry of his commitment to uphold the integrity of the judiciary.

He says his administration is devoted to delivering quality justice services to Ghanaians.

He however challenged professionals in the justice delivery sector to work towards correcting poor public perception about the judiciary in recent times.

“Management is determined to build trustworthy and robust institutions from the various informed initiatives underway. The judiciary and the judicial service in the last few years have been subjected to intense criticism and it beholds us to change the narrative to improve the perception of the public and to encourage them to seek legal redress instead of resorting to taking the law into their hands,” said Justice Anin-Yeboah.

He was addressing the 1st quadrennial delegates’ congress of the Senior Staff Association of Judiciary Service of Ghana (SSAJUG), after it broke away from the Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSAG) in 2018.

The Association includes court clerks, interpreters, registrars and bailiffs.

The five-day conference is themed: “Promoting Efficiency in Justice Delivery: The Role of Staff and Management”.

Justice Anin-Yeboah implored association members to commit to good work ethics and strive for excellence.

“The commencement of this legal year calls for sober reflection as to what we have done right or wrong. We need to stay vigilant and remain focused at all times.

“Despite the logistical and other constraints, we must collectively do all it takes to reduce to the barest minimum, the costly delays that have virtually turned our courts into mere case processing centers and made litigation very expensive to our compatriots.

“I urge you to be mindful of the enormity of our challenge at hand and to strive for excellence, bearing in mind that performance is one of the major determining factors for promotion,” he said.

He entreated the SSAJUG and JUSAG to eschew undue actions that threaten the unity of the associations.

“I entreat the leadership of both unions, JUSAG and SSAJUG to collaborate to achieve their collective interest as stipulated in the labor regulations of 2003.

“I charge both unions to endeavor to work together in unity and avoid unnecessary rivalry and friction to create a healthy working environment,” said the Chief Justice.

National President of SSAJUG, Marilyn Suttah, called on the Chief Justice and the judiciary to motivate long-standing and hard-working staff at the Ghana Judiciary service.

She asserts that such a support scheme would encourage workers of the court and ensure effective delivery of service.

“Judicial staff are faced with several challenges. Notable among them are limited resources, the deplorable state of some of the courts, inadequate capacity-building programs for staff, and the absence of an award scheme for hardworking and long-serving staff.

“Due to the peculiar nature of our job, most staff of the service are unable to seek other job opportunities elsewhere because the knowledge acquired in the courts is not applicable in other institutions.

“It is only fair that such staff are rewarded periodically for hard work and long service, as it is done in other institutions; to encourage them to even do more for the service,” she added.

In response, Justice Anim Yeboah acknowledged that “workers are entitled to decent wages and management must ensure that staff are adequately motivated to execute their duty satisfactorily.

“It is imperative to bear in mind that service to the nation is the top most priority, and integrity must be the key guiding the principle in the execution of your daily tasks”.