Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Former Majority Leader of Parliament, has kicked against the decision of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General-designate to reintroduce public tribunals in the country.
He says the practice, despite being in the Constitution, has outlived its usefulness and been condemned by many who believe it should be expunged from the constitution.
According to him, expert ideas and consultations made during the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) formed under former President Mills’ era recommended that it be removed from the Constitution.
His comments follow a suggestion by the Minister-designate for Justice and Attorney-General, Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, during his vetting by the Appointments Committee of Parliament, that the public tribunals may be reintroduced.
In an exclusive interview with TV3’s Eric Mawuena Egbeta, the former Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Suame lawmaker indicated that “the Public Tribunals we all know was a menace but because it was introduced by the PNDC, it found its way into the 1992 Constitution.
“It has become extinct. I’m surprised the Hon. Attorney-General (A-G) nominee is trying to suggest to us that he wants to dust it and bring it back,” he stated.
According to Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, “it will be a national tragedy” to reintroduce the public tribunals.
The former lawmaker went ahead to question the purpose of the practice which the Minister-designate is calling for its reintroduction.
“The previous [NDC] administration in the previous Constitutional Review said we should do away with it. The Constitutional Review Committee, everybody was talking against it that we should purge the constitution of that then a lone voice comes to say that we should bring it back, I don’t know what purpose it is going to serve. And so I think that we should do away with it,” he stated.
Regional Tribunals are of the same status as the High Court. They are presided over by Chairmen who sit with panel members. They have jurisdictions in selected criminal cases only. They were located in all the regional capitals of Ghana. However, it has become extinct for some time now.
Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu explains why vetting of Ato Forson, Ayine & Jinapor shouldn’t have happened
