The Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has charged the reconstituted Legal Service Board to ensure that the right calibre of staff are recruited to ensure effective delivery of services.

“The country cannot afford to have a Legal Service that is made up of people whose competence and diligence to work are in doubt,” he said.

Dr Bawumia, who is also acting as the President because President Akufo-Addo is out of the country on official duties, was speaking at the inauguration of the nine-member Legal Service Board in Accra on Monday.

The board is chaired by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame.

Other members include the two Deputy Attorneys-General and Ministers of Justice, Alfred Tuah-Yeboah and Ms Diana Asonaba Dapaah; the Solicitor-General, Ms Helen Akpene Awo Ziwu, and a Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Jones Victor Mawulorm Dotse.

The rest are the Chairperson of the Public Services Commission, Dr Janet Ampadu Fofie; a representative of the Ghana Bar Association, Mr Kwaku Gyau, and two nominees of the President, Mr Daniel Kwaku Tweneboah Asirifi and Mrs Sylvia Assimeng Archer.

The board is expected to advise the President on matters connected with the structure and the conduct of affairs of the service, such as recruitment, appointment, promotion and conditions of service of officers.

Advice

Dr Bawumia advised the board to discharge its mandate by “working together as gladiators to lead the Legal Service in carrying out its statutory responsibility of creating and sustaining a reputable legal system to enhance access to justice for the people”.

He also urged the board to ensure that the country was always ahead of its peers when it comes to the provision of legal services for the state.

According to the Vice-President, having a competent workforce would have a multiplier effect on other sectors of national development and, therefore, asked the members to let their expertise and experience impact on the work.

He gave an assurance that the Office of the President would offer the board the necessary support to be able to carry out its duties effectively.

Assurance

Mr Dame said members of the board were mindful of the burden placed on them and assured the Vice-President of working to justify the confidence reposed in them.

He said he considered their selection as a call to duty, for which reason they would not take their responsibilities lightly, adding that the high calibre of persons on the board demonstrated the seriousness the President attached to the work of the board.