Calls for Chief Justice’s resignation over SOE remarks disproportionate – Catholic Bishops Conference

The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference has described calls for the resignation of Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie over his recent remarks on state-owned enterprises (SOEs) as disproportionate.

The Chief Justice made the remarks during working visits to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) and MIIF on Wednesday, September 2.

He commended MIIF for what he described as an impressive turnaround compared to the previous administration and questioned what had been done over the previous eight years.

The comments have since generated public debate over whether they were appropriate for the head of the Judiciary, with critics arguing that they could create an impression of political bias.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) subsequently called on the Chief Justice to resign and join the National Democratic Congress (NDC), accusing him of political bias.

In a statement dated September 6, the Conference said there was nothing improper about the Chief Justice visiting public institutions and commending genuine improvements in their operations.

It, however, acknowledged concerns that his reference to the “past eight years” during a visit to the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) could be interpreted as a political comparison between the current administration and its predecessor.

However, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference said such a conclusion is not supported by the available evidence.

The Conference said calls for his resignation on the basis of the remarks alone were disproportionate, stressing that the Chief Justice, like any citizen, was entitled to his own convictions.

“We wish to be clear that none of this amounts to a suggestion that the Chief Justice is partisan, or that the Judiciary has been compromised,” it said.

"Such conclusions would go well beyond the evidence available to us, and calls for his resignation on this basis alone strike us as disproportionate to the offence," they reiterated.