Accra: Members of the legal fraternity in the Upper West Region, along with state prosecutors, have expressed strong dissatisfaction over the stalled construction of the multi-million-cedi regional High Court complex. They have described the abandoned site as a 'cemetery,' reflecting two decades of dashed expectations.
According to Ghana Web, regional leaders of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) and the Office of the Attorney General revealed that, despite repeated inspections and assurances from national delegations, the three-storey structure has once again been abandoned by the contractor, leaving Wa without a single purpose-built modern courtroom. On a visit to the site last Friday, legal practitioners observed that equipment had been removed, gates left open, fittings exposed to theft, and fresh paint already peeling from the exterior walls just three months after application.
Chairman of the GBA in the region, Siddique Ubeidu, warned that members fear for their safety due to the worsening state of the makeshift facilities currently housing justice delivery. 'You will recall that this work was started almost 20 years ago, and it has been one reason or excuse for another,' Ubeidu stated. He recounted assurances from the national executive committee of the GBA and the Judicial Service that the building would be completed within months, yet the site remains abandoned.
Ubeidu highlighted the hazardous conditions inside the operational Wa Circuit Court, where occupants face daily risks due to life-threatening structural cracks. 'Staff have no offices and compete with litigants inside the courtroom, even eating their meals there,' he added.
Principal State Attorney for the region, Saeed Abdul-Shakur, described the situation as a national embarrassment, questioning why a nation would take 20 years to build a three-storey court complex. 'We cannot be delivering justice under trees,' he emphasized, reflecting on the inadequate temporary structures currently in use.
Acting Secretary of the regional GBA, Crispin Wura-Sey Ziekah, raised concerns about the compromised infrastructure and the failure to meet previously set deadlines for commissioning the new complex. The lawyers have appealed directly to the Chief Justice, the Attorney General, and the Minister for Justice to compel the contractor and consultants back to site, stressing that the facility must be completed to avert catastrophe in the region's makeshift courtrooms.
Meanwhile, the contractor, Project Seven Limited, has denied abandoning the project. A director of the company, Simon Sowah, told JoyNews that unpaid certificates remain pending with the Judicial Service and central government. He said the company will return to site once the government settles its indebtedness.