The
GH¢8-million project, which was started in 2010, was constructed with
funding from the government and internally generated funds of the
service.
Each of the executive-styled
apartments contains three bedrooms, a living and dining area, a study, a
laundry room and has a two-bedroom outhouse.
Deficit
At
the inauguration ceremony, the Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina
Theodora Wood, said currently, 74 out of the 143 Superior Court judges
were without official accommodation.
That, she
said, was despite the fact that their conditions of service stipulated
that they ought to be allocated fully furnished residential
accommodation.
To address the challenge, she
said in 2010, the Judicial Service embarked on a project to redevelop
some of its old bungalows into modern residential facilities for judges.
“As
part of the project, six two-storey bungalows were to be constructed at
East Ridge, four two-storey bungalows in Kumasi and 10 executive flats
at Roman Ridge,’’ she said.
She, however, said the project in Kumasi had grounded to a halt owing to financial challenges.
In 2013, the Roman Ridge project, she said also came to a standstill due to funding difficulties from the government.
“However,
in 2016, the Judicial Service obtained authorisation from the Ministry
of Finance to use part of its internally generated funds to complete the
project. We are relieved that work has been completed and the flats are
ready for occupation by our distinguished judges of the High Court,’’
she said.
Access to justice
Mrs
Justice Wood said as a result of new judicial reforms, the Judicial
Service had appointed more judges and magistrates to further improve
access to justice.
“The engagement of more
judges by the service has invariably resulted in an increase in the
number of judges who require accommodation from the state,’’ she said.
For
his part, the project coordinator, Mr Kofi Arhin, advised the judges
who would occupy the apartments to adopt a good maintenance culture.
“Maintain the edifice in the state in which it is or even better,’’ he urged the would-be occupants.
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