Manage Statutory Organizations Efficiently � Mould-Iddrisu

The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mrs Betty Mould-Iddrisu, on Tuesday stressed the need for statutory organizations to be run effectively like private businesses. She said the deplorable situations in which such state institutions found themselves left much to be desired. Mrs Mould-Iddrisu was speaking at the inauguration of a seven-member board for the Council for Law Report (CLR) in Accra. The Council for Law Report was established by NRC Decree 64 as a statutory organization to officially publish the Ghana Law Report. The Council has Mr Justice Anin Yeboah, a Supreme Court Judge, as its Chairman. Members are Professor Emmanuel Yaw Benneh, Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, Mr Benjamin N.T. Ashong-Katai and Mrs Efua Ghartey, of the Ghana Bar Association, Mr Daniel R.K. Sankah, Editor, Ghana Law Reports, Ms Effiba Amihere and Ms Maamie Hagan, government nominees. Mrs Mould-Iddrisu noted that despite the problems that the Council faced, such as poor conditions of service and low number of lawyers, she was disappointed at the poor management of the organization. �The Council must be pulled up and run like any effective business,� she added. The Minister also charged the new Board members to bring their rich experiences to bear on the Council and ensure that it was managed efficiently. She challenged the management to increase the subscriptions of the Ghana Law Report by liaising with the Ghana School of Law, the courts and lawyers. Mr Justice Yeboah pleaded with the Attorney General to assist the Council by seconding lawyers to the Council to help bring back its former glory. He said government should resource the CLR to be able to attract new lawyers to help with the research and writing of the annual Law Reports. He said the law report was essential for both lawyers and judges to be able to do their work effectively. Mr Sankah, Editor of the Ghana Law Report (GLR), said the research and writing of the law report was a labour intensive which would require more lawyers. He said by the time lawyers who were on internship might have developed enough skills to do the work they would have secured opportunities elsewhere. He said the CLR also had a journal where lawyers and other legal personnel could send their contributions for publication.