The Minority Leader of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Hon. Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has described the attempt to remove Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo under the President John Mahama-led administration as a systematic and calculated assault on the independence of the judiciary.
Speaking yesterday at a press conference held by the coalition of political parties Hon.Afenyo-Markin, indicated that the ongoing efforts to suspend the Chief Justice pose a serious threat to the integrity of Ghana’s democratic institutions.
“I, on behalf of the minority caucuses, hereby say that what we’re witnessing today under John Mahama-led government is a systematic and calculated assault on the independence of the judiciary,” he stated
He further criticized the Council of State, accusing it of failing the nation’s democracy, saying, “Our Council of State has failed our democracy,” he stated. “They rehearsed the suspension of the Chief Justice. They commissioned fake research, circulated it publicly, and claimed that the majority of Ghanaians want the Chief Justice removed.”
The minority leader who is also a member of parliament for Effutu constituency alleged that the process had been politically manipulated from the outset. “Even before the Council of State received the so-called petitions, NDC-aligned newspapers were already reporting that the Chief Justice would be suspended. Clearly, the agenda was rehearsed. And after reviewing the petitions, I find them very unfortunate,” he revealed.
Again, the minority leader cited incident from 2014 stating that the galamsey issue is not new and had been a major concern.
“Somewhere in 2014, the then Minister of Finance, Honorable Seth Terkper, appeared before Parliament and lamented the state of cocoa production in our country, Among the key issues he raised through the Finance Committee was the destructive impact of galamsey.”
Hon Afenyo-Markin admitted that while the NPP government made efforts to address the issue, they were not as successful as hoped.
“Yes, I must admit, we were not successful. But at least, we confronted the problem. The NDC, instead, used it as a campaign tool against us,” he observed.
He continued: “According to organised labour, the Galamsey situation has worsened. And they have now even institutionalised Galamsey by enacting what they call a gold board.”
