Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has proposed that all lawyers working for public institutions be employed directly by the Office of the Attorney-General.
This proposal according to him is part of his broader vision to enhance the capacity of the Office to meet the growing and complex legal needs of the state.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the conference of public sector lawyers, Attorney-General stated that this restructuring would address current inefficiencies and foster better coordination across government agencies.
Mr. Dame emphasized that each ministry, department, agency, or district assembly should have at least one state attorney assigned to them.
He highlighted that, to fully meet the demands of the modern state, the Office of the Attorney-General needs to be strengthened, noting that the government is in the process of recruiting 70 new state attorneys, bringing the total number appointed during the current administration to approximately 190.
However, he pointed out that the country still needs about 1,500 state attorneys to properly discharge the functions of the Attorney-General under Article 88 of the Constitution.
“To ensure cohesion in the public service and avoid an uncoordinated approach which leads to inefficiencies, all lawyers working for each of these public institutions ought to be employed by the Office of the Attorney-General.”