Accra Circuit Court Stinks; As Water, Light Go Off For A Week

Work is almost grinding to a halt at the Accra Circuit Courts, where apparently the courts are operating without electricity and water – making its washrooms stinking terribly bad, for some time now.

The Courts allegedly owe the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), forcing the power supplier to cut electricity supply to the Court as it did to many other state institutions, including the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).

The absence of power supply has not only affected work in the courtrooms, it has also directly affected flow of water because the courts use mechanized borehole which pumps water, using electricity.

This is what has led to the smelly toilets because water is unable to flow through the taps and the water Closets (WCs).

Already, the toilets are very few at the Circuit Courts building. The building which houses the Registry, Courts 1, 3, 4, 7, 9 and the Labour Courts, have only one washroom for males, while that of Courts 10, 6, 11, 5, have two washrooms for both males and females.

But the obvious embarrassing situation has allegedly remained unresolved for a week already.

Visitors, officials as well as journalists, who use these aforementioned courts are forced to either go outside the premises anytime nature calls, or move to the apex court, if the need be.

The situation is allegedly affecting women in their menses the most.

Some are allegedly even shying away from the court for days because they cannot have decent places to change themselves.

Unfortunately, as at the time of filing this report, The Anchor was reliably informed these lack of basic social amenities was still yet to be fixed.

As mentioned earlier, the situation is seriously affecting proper work at the court which shares premises with the Supreme Court in the national capital.

An anonymous source told this paper, work in general has greatly been affected.

Although officials are quiet, the pungent smell is all over to meet anyone who tries to enter any of the washrooms unaware of the situation.

Due to the unexpected power cut, public as well as officials are unable to file proceedings at the registry electronically and so everything is almost grinding to a halt.

“According to my information, people are unable to file for proceedings of the court because when they make the application, the registry has to enter it and for the fact that there is no light, the registry too cannot do it job.

So, everything is grinding to a halt. Apart from the hearing of the cases that are being called nothing is happening there. I hear they owe but I cannot confirm it unless you call the Judicial Service”, the source said.

The power cut has also resulted in fans, some of which are looking terribly old, not functioning.

“Yes it is not working so they have to open some of the windows because it is too hot and they cannot use the fan. Even the conditions of the some of the rooms are very bad. Some of them the tiles are removing, the fans are not even working.

Others too when it rains, the ceilings leak. The source cited the court hearing the case against the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Bono Regional chairman Kwame Baffoe aka Abronye DC as one of the rooms that is in a deplorable state.

Meanwhile, the Supreme and the Human Rights Courts, allegedly have generator and so they are not affected.

Source: Anchorghana.com