Attorney General (AG), Godfred Dame, has urged the government to recruit an additional 1,500 state attorneys to strengthen the legal infrastructure supporting public institutions.
He outlined this need during the opening ceremony of the Conference of Public Sector Lawyers at the Kempinski Hotel in Accra, attended by President Akufo-Addo and other officials.
Dame pointed out that Ghana currently has around 370 state attorneys serving the public sector, a number he argued is insufficient given the growing complexity of the country’s legal needs.
Addressing the president directly, he noted the recent recruitment drive under Akufo-Addo’s administration, which will soon bring 70 new attorneys on board. With these appointments, a total of 190 attorneys will have joined the Attorney General’s office during the president’s tenure.
To ensure more effective governance, Dame called for a model where at least one state attorney is stationed at every ministry, department, agency (MDA), and district assembly.
“Mr. President, I cannot resume my seat without commenting on the need to enhance the capacity of the Office of the A-G to place it in the position to rise to the demands of the complexity of modern legal needs of the state,” he said. This, he explained, would address inefficiencies and improve coordination across government functions.
A core issue, Dame highlighted, is the lack of centralization in government legal work. Presently, some public sector institutions employ their own lawyers, leading to gaps in coordination.
“The situation whereby some ministries, departments, agencies or, metropolitan, municipal and district assembly employ their own lawyers does not augur well for proper harmony and synchronisation of government’s legal work,” Dame noted.
His vision, he added, is for all public sector lawyers to be employed directly through the Attorney General’s office to establish a unified approach to government legal services.
Dame also took the opportunity to commend President Akufo-Addo for his ongoing support of the Attorney General’s office. Among the achievements noted were recent infrastructure upgrades, including the new 12-story headquarters, Law House, completed five months ago.
Dame added that in the next administration, “every regional office of the Ministry of Justice will own its permanent office building,” underscoring plans for continued investment in the legal sector’s infrastructure.
Dame’s call for additional attorneys aims to enhance cohesion, reduce legal bottlenecks, and support a more efficient public sector in Ghana.