Legal scholar and governance advocate Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare, popularly known as Kwaku Azar, has proposed the establishment of functional law offices for Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to strengthen legal compliance, protect public resources and improve access to justice.
Professor Asare argues that every assembly should have access to a functional law office capable of performing four key functions: advising on legal and commercial transactions, ensuring compliance with applicable laws, defending assemblies in legal disputes and pursuing civil enforcement actions against activities that threaten community welfare.
Under the proposed arrangement, assembly law offices would advise on contracts, land transactions and public-private partnerships while helping local authorities comply with procurement, public financial management, budgeting, expenditure and employment laws. They would also represent assemblies in contractual disputes, property cases, negligence claims and other litigation.
The offices would further support the enforcement of building, housing, planning, sanitation and public health regulations, as well as action against unlawful business practices, illegal mining, illegal gambling and other activities that threaten public welfare.
However, Professor Asare says many assemblies lack the lawyers and financial resources needed to perform these functions effectively. He has therefore outlined three practical proposals to strengthen legal services at the local government level.
National service lawyers for district law offices
His first proposal is to allow the mandatory national service requirement to be fulfilled after enrolment at the Bar, with newly enrolled lawyers deployed to district law offices under the supervision of experienced legal practitioners.
He believes the arrangement would provide young lawyers with practical experience while giving assemblies access to much-needed legal expertise and helping communities benefit from stronger legal services.
Partnerships between law faculties and assemblies
The second proposal involves partnerships between law faculties and assemblies to address practical legal and governance challenges.
Under the arrangement, law faculties could adopt three or four districts, with supervised students assisting in investigating building, planning, sanitation and environmental violations, reviewing contracts and procurement transactions, and examining Auditor-General reports to identify possible legal remedies.
Students could also conduct research for public-interest litigation and help residents understand and enforce their legal rights. Professor Asare further suggests that law students collaborate with their counterparts in accounting, auditing and procurement on projects aimed at improving financial accountability.
He says the initiative would give students academic credit and practical experience while providing assemblies with additional support and helping communities address local governance concerns.
Shared legal resources for smaller assemblies
The third proposal is for smaller assemblies to share legal resources through joint law offices supported by national service lawyers, university legal clinics and partnerships with professional legal bodies.
According to Professor Asare, the approach would allow assemblies with limited resources to access legal expertise without each having to establish and maintain a fully independent legal office.
He emphasises that the proposals are not intended to replace experienced lawyers but to expand their capacity and make legal services more accessible to local authorities.
Professor Asare says the proposals could help bridge the gap between the legal talent Ghana produces and the legal needs of public institutions and communities.
He argues that assemblies need legal advice, public institutions require compliance support, communities need effective civil law enforcement, and citizens need access to justice, while newly qualified lawyers need opportunities to gain practical experience.
He has therefore urged stakeholders to reconsider how Ghana deploys its growing pool of legal professionals, arguing that rather than focusing on whether the country has too many lawyers, attention should be given to placing newly qualified lawyers in institutions where their services are urgently needed.
Story by Freedom Etsey Lavoe
