Activities in the various courts across the country have come to a standstill following a nationwide strike declared by the Judicial Service Staff Association (JUSSAG).
The situation has also left lawyers and their clients across the country stranded.
Citi News’ Fred Djabanor who visited a number of courts in Accra reported that there was virtually no activity there.
According to him, the visibly frustrated people who thronged to the court to have their cases settled were disappointed to see most of the court rooms locked.
A frustrated client who spoke to Citi News said : “I have a judgement against SGSSB and they brought it to the Supreme Court and today being the ruling day, I have come here to have the case finally ruled for me and I am facing this frustration because the Judicial Services Staff are not around… I have been here for almost two and half hours ago.”
Another said: ” I am here to see whether my case is coming on or not but I was told the case is not coming on because they are on strike. This is very bad..”
An agitated lawyer told Citi News the situation ” puts us back in terms of the Justice delivery system.”
He expressed the hope that the issue will be resolved “as soon as possible for the Judiciary to start working.”
“The clients have been short-changed, they paid lawyers to work and because there is no Justice , they cannot work and if it is the whole nation it means an arm of government has stopped working and this is very serious and a constitutional chaos”one other lawyer complained.
Other regions were also affected as they were compelled to halt proceedings due to the industrial action.
Citi News’ Volta Regional Correspondent, King Norbert Akpabli reported that “… activities at the premises have come to a stand still.”
[contextly_sidebar id=”ENar6EHwueYmTN9fx9XgauQW6fgrYBpM”]He said the “registrar’s office, the reception’s office, the Cashier office, court rooms and all the other offices that are usually the first point of contact for all court users have been closed”, adding that there were “no registrars to file cases.”
He said “some of the litigants who declined to speak on record expressed their frustrations about the situation.”
In the Upper West Region, Assistant State Attorney Saeed Abdul Shakur who had gone to court to file a case expressed frustrations at the turn of events following the strike.
“We have a lot of criminal cases in the circuit court and I don’t even know the direction I am going now because I cant meet anybody to even determine when to adjourn proceedings. Offices are locked and there is no one to talk to.I am so confused because this is going to disorganize me completely because you have a case that is lined up and slated for today. You are coming to court to come and prosecute the case and no one is here,”he said
JUSSAG on Tuesday declared an indefinite strike after government failed to settle unpaid allowances owed them.
They have declared the strike until government takes measures to address their grievances.
The President of JUSSAG has defended their decision to embark on a strike, saying though their decision is regrettable it is also necessary.
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By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana