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By Francis Ntow
Accra, March 27, GNA – The United States (US) has donated 54 laptops to the Legal Aid Commission to promote access to justice.
Mr Douglas Craig Emhoff, US Second Gentleman, donated on Monday in Accra during a three-day state visit by his wife, Kamala Harris, US Vice President.
The items were received by Justice Ellen Adjoa Sowa, the Acting Executive Director of the Legal Aid Commission.
He made the donation at a forum to discuss ways to increase access to justice in Ghana.
The forum was attended by some legal practitioners, law lecturers, and law students from the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA).
Mr Emhoff said the donation was a show of commitment of the US in supporting the Commission to address the bottlenecks that confronted its daily operations and hampered access to justice delivery.
“The US is committed to support access to justice across the world [including Ghana]. The US will continue to uphold justice now, and for many years to come,” Mr Emhoff said.
On behalf of the Government, Justice Sowa, expressed appreciation to the US government for the kind gesture, noting that legal regulations in Ghana were adequate to tackle challenges in the legal aid system.
She was quick to add that such regulations were fine on paper and needed human and financial resources to make them work to increase legal aid to those who needed it and promote access to justice.
She noted that Ghana had made strides with its Legal Aid Commission Act, 2018 (Act 977), which had enhanced access to justice delivery to people who needed legal representation in criminal matters in addition to Alternative Dispute Resolutions (ADR).
Justice Nene Amegatcher, a justice of the Supreme Court, called on the Government to support the Commission with an adequate financial and human resources to implement its mandate fully.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Mr Jonathan Osei Owusu, Founder and Executive Director of POS Foundation (a human rights and youth development centred NGO), commended the US for the donation.
He, however, noted that considering the magnitude of the work done by the Commission, the Government needed to provide more support for its operations.
Ms Harris’ visit is to deepen economic relations with the country in areas, including economic empowerment of women and girls, youth entrepreneurship, digital inclusion and climate change.
After her three-days in Ghana, Harris, together with her husband would depart to Tanzania for two days, before ending their trip to Africa in Zambia.
GNA
KK
27 March 2023
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