Koforidua, Sept. 10, GNA - President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Monday said the constant breaking of rules and regulations and the malfunction of the law had led to the current banking crisis being witnessed in the country.
He noted that the deficit in the application of the rule of law was what was hindering Ghana's progress as country, saying that the missing link in the country's governance system ought to be addressed to facilitate the nation's ability to attain its goals.
Speaking at the 2018 Annual Conference of the Ghana Bar Association, in Koforidua in the Eastern Region, President Akufo-Addo said financial institutions that had collapsed had some of their dealings steeped in lawlessness at one stage or the other.
“The story of every bank that has had problems, be they indigenous Ghanaian banks or international banks, like Barings Bank, Lehman Brothers, Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), each one can be traced to someone or some people breaking the law, or trying to cut corners by flouting regulations.”
And those acts of lawlessness have resulted “invariably, in the loss, and threat of loss, of innocent depositors’ savings and jobs.”
The President stated that lawlessness “affects everyday life. It is about breaking rules and regulations in many aspects of our lives, and wanting to, and, indeed, circumventing the laws that are meant to guide our society.
“It has to do with driving recklessly, and breaking all the traffic regulations and trying to bribe the police when you are pulled up. It has to do with not getting the proper permit to build a house, and it has to do with looking the other way when something wrong is going on.”
President Akufo-Addo stated that for members of the legal fraternity, many had violated the judicial oath through the sharp practice and unethical behaviour by some lawyers, which jeopardised the administration of justice and the interests of ordinary people.
The degradation of the environment, pollution of the atmosphere and water bodies, petty bribery and corruption, bribery and corruption on a grand scale, he added were clear cases of people breaking the law.
“When a road that was built barely a year ago develops potholes, someone or some people have been breaking the law or cutting corners. The story of environmental degradation occasioned by illegal mining, what we call Galamsey, is a clear case of people breaking the law,” he added.
The President urged Members of the Ghana Bar Association to be the natural champions of a law-based state, whose establishments should be solid enough to sanction effectively vigilantism, bank frauds, cyber frauds, sharp practice, illegal mining, unlawful exports of fertilisers and oil products, identity thefts, stealing of public funds, bribery and corruption, criminal cartels, and criminal behaviour in general.
“The employment of technology to the practice of law and the administration of justice will help to facilitate the nation’s ability to reach these goals,” he added.
GNA
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