Yaw Sarpong (right) presenting a plaque to Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame
THE ATTORNEY General (AG) and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has been adjudged the best performing Minister for 2021.
The annual award, presented by FAKS Investigative Services, after a survey, takes into consideration the work of ministers over a one-year period, by assessing their contributions to national development.
The annual survey also assesses the performance of Members of Parliament (MPs) and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) in the country.
The survey gave Ghanaians the opportunity to rate the performance of the various government appointees within the year.
Last year’s overall performance saw the AG going head-to-head with the Minister for Roads and Highways and the Education Minister, who all secured a rating of 92.6% in the 3,661 respondents’ survey, but the AG was adjudged the overall best.
His contributions to Ghana’s victory in the Norway Chancery case, as well as his representation of the state in constitutional matters, were some of the reasons for the choice.
Yaw Sarpong, leader of FAKS Investigative Services, presenting a plaque to the AG, also emphasised the important role the AG played in the admission of some 499 students into the Ghana School of Law, who were initially denied admission although they had met the pass mark.
Mr. Dame, in a brief remark, paid tribute to the staff of his office for their dedication and support since he assumed office, emphasising that “any achievement or accomplishment on my part definitely could not have been possible without their unflinching support.”
He said, he was mindful of the important role placed on the Ministry of Justice, and he was always prepared to use the best of his abilities to promote the attainment of the objectives of good governance that the President has set for himself.
“I must also place on record that this office is a very strong anchor for the attainment of whatever objectives the President has set for himself. This office really stands in the gap when it comes to attainment of accountability, promotion of good governance, and creation of a sound atmosphere for the conduct of business in the country. That is why we have institutions like the Registrar General’s Department, the Legal Aid Commission and of course the General Legal Council under the Ministry,” he state.
He added that the decision to facilitate the admission of the 499 students, although not an easy one, had to be taken on account of fairness.
“I recognised that there were some ambiguities in the standards, and for that matter, on the account of fairness, a review had to be made. So, I had to balance the interest of the General Legal Council, which was definitely seeking to protect its integrity against the legitimate demands of candidates for the examination, and I thought that in the spirit of fairness, a second look ought to be taken at the decision,” Dame added.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak