Accra, Oct. 20, GNA - The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) on Thursday said Ghana's Golden Jubilee Anniversary Celebration next year should foster national unity, reconciliation, consensus building and promote development.

It has therefore, called on Government to ensure that the programme was all-inclusive for Ghanaians to feel a collective sense of belonging and involvement in the celebration.

Mr Solomon Kwami Tetteh, President of the association made the call at a press conference in Accra to throw light on resolutions adopted at its Annual General Conference in Ho.

He appealed to Government to come out with a comprehensive energy plan that would ensure consistent and adequate power supply to satisfy domestic consumption and promote economic development. Mr Tetteh expressed concern about the spate of strike actions and advised Ghanaians to respect and abide by the Labour Laws in the country with regard to negotiations, mediation and arbitration of industrial disputes.

He welcomed the on-going negotiations for new and better conditions of service for teachers, and appealed to members of National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) in the spirit of dispute resolution, the affected pupils, students, parents and the nation to take its place at the negotiating table and resume work.

On the current drug menace facing the nation, the GBA President pointed out that it posed a major threat to the health, security and an irreparable damage to the image of the country.

Mr Tetteh referring to the Justice Georgina Wood Committee report; said there was no legal duty on any person against whom an allegation made in the course of any investigation, whether by a committee or commission of enquiry, the police or other law enforcement agency, to proceed without any intimation from the investigating body to surrender himself for interrogation.

=93The GBA did not consider that Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu is under any legal duty to offer himself for interrogation before the committee. The decision whether the Asantehene should testify lay exclusively with it.=94

Mr Tetteh said the association, considered as unfortunate threats to the lives of four Senior Journalists for their views on the cocaine issue.

'We consider equally unfortunate the threats by contributors to radio discussions to lynch those Journalists if they dared enter Kumasi.'

'The Bar wishes to remind those who issued the threats that the Journalists were exercising their constitutional rights of free speech, and that any attempt to impede their entry into Kumasi will constitute an invasion of their constitutional right of free movement," he stressed.

The GBA President advised the media to close further publication or discussion on the matter, in view of the fact that the debate had degenerated into an ugly ethnic division.

He called on Government to take effective measures to combat and eliminate the drug trade, while the Bar and the Bench played their respective roles towards speedy disposal of narcotic cases. Mr Tetteh noted that the current practice of instant justice meted out to crime suspects should be condemned by all right-thinking Ghanaians.

He said the Bar considered the practice not only as criminal and subversive of the rule of law, but also as a violation of the presumption of innocence.

On the abolition of the criminal libel law, the GBA President remarked that although this had rather resulted in unbridled freedom to publications by some media houses and nostalgia for the law, its reinstatement would not correct the misconduct.

"A better approach will be to allow the Journalism profession to grow and develop the structures for its regulation. It will be better to create an environment that will encourage a steady, even if gradual growth of a coercive force of criminal legislation," he added.

Mr Tetteh appealed to Parliament to pass the Domestic Violence and Right to Information Bills.

He commended the Black Stars for their outstanding performance at the just-ended World Cup tournament in Germany and urged Government to encourage it to achieve greater heights in future.

On International Issues, the GBA President welcomed the creation of the African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights.

He advised members of the association to apprise themselves of its rules and procedures as well as the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice to enable them practice at those courts.

Mr Tetteh condemned the genocide in the Darfur region and urged the International Community to take urgent and effective steps to bring the situation under control.

He congratulated Busumuru Kofi Annan, out-going Secretary General of the United Nations for his successful tenure, efforts towards promotion of world peace and distinguished leadership of the world body over the last decade. 20 Oct. 06