Every Government Since 1992 Has Failed – Former Chief Justice

Former Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo is not enthused with the performance of all successive governments of Ghana since 1992.

In her view, both the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) governments have failed to move the nation forward. She also blamed both parties for eroding the standards and principles of the nation.

“I’ve been disappointed with every single government we have had under this Constitution. Because, after all that, we went through with the military and everything, and we centred the Constitution as the guiding principle, at least, constitutionalism should have been what should have been guiding us but we have eroded so many standards, we’ve eroded so many principles.

“Yes, it’s not only the NPP government, as far as I’m concerned, but every government has also failed us,” the former Supreme Court Justice said in a Joy News interview.

Sophia Akuffo served as the Chief Justice under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo between 2017 and 2019.

She recently joined pensioner bondholders to picket at the premises of the Ministry of Finance to demand the total exclusion of their bonds from the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme.

Her presence received varied reactions from Ghanaians with some praising her decision to stand up for ordinary Ghanaians while others including NPP stalwart Gabby Asare Otchere Darko criticised her decision to picket.

In a tweet, Mr Otchere-Darko who is also a cousin of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo added that while he sympathizes with those picketing, he finds it difficult to understand why they are asking “to be exempted from an improved offer programme which is voluntary.”

“Why picket over an offer that you have the liberty not to accept?” he quizzed.

But in a response, the former Chief Justice described Mr Otchere-Darko as a “disturbance” and further added that his views are not important to her.

“He doesn’t decide for me what I need to do and what I don’t need to do, I don’t have time for things like that. People like that are not important to me or to my life, and he is a disturbance, that is all that I need to say to that,” Madam Akuffo told Citi News‘ Charles Kumi.