Use ADR to free courts of workload

Story: Kwame Asare Boadu,
Mamponteng
THE District Magistrate at Mamponteng in the Ashanti Region, Mrs Aliata Saeed, has called on litigants to make use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) to free the courts of their huge workload.
She expressed regret that very trivial cases, some of them involving debts of GH¢50, continued to flock the courts, when they could have been handled through the ADR system without much delay and financial drain.
Mrs Saeed, who was speaking at the inauguration of the refurbished district court building at Mamponteng in the Kwabre District, said “it is not every time that the court is the place to settle disputes”.
“We have to realise that the pressure on the courts is too much and as such cases that are not serious must be settled through arbitration,” she said.
The refurbishment of the building, which also houses the district post office, cost GH¢23,000, and was financed by the district assembly.
Mrs Saeed noted that it was most often antagonistic to have cases settled by the courts, but very friendly when handled through the ADR.
She commended the district assembly for releasing funds to renovate the building, which was seriously crying for attention.
The District Chief Executive (DCE), Alhaji Kwasi Yeboah, said it was important for the people to take good care of government property to ensure their longer lifespan.
He said the government and the assembly were determined to improve on their development activities so that people in the remotest parts of the district enjoy decent living.
Alhaji Yeboah disclosed that 15 kilometres of roads in the district were to be rehabilitated this year under a special presidential package, adding that five kilometres of the entire project would be undertaken at Mamponteng, the district capital.
The DCE also touched on the water project at Mamponteng and expressed the hope that the new management board of the project would ensure that it was maintained properly.
Alhaji Yeboah called on the people to be wary of opposition politicians, who were only out to spread false information about the government.
“We must not give in to the machinations of such people because they have nothing good for the nation,” he said.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Kwabre East, Mr Kofi Frimpong, urged the people to continue to rally behind the government to ensure accelerated development.
He also asked them to open their eyes very wide and look out for politicians whose weapon was misinforming the electorate about the government, as the general election approached.
The Chief of Ahwiaa, Nana Kusi Asiamah Yeboah, chaired the ceremony.