By Belinda Nketia
Private legal practitioner and activist Oliver Barker Vormawor has expressed reservations about the ability of institutions in Ghana to fulfill their mandates, citing widespread systemic and administrative challenges that continue to hamper progress and the delivery of justice in the country.
Speaking on the GTV Breakfast Show on June 18, 2025, the lawyer argued that the persistent demand for reforms, exemplified by the #FixTheCountry movement, is itself a reflection of the failure of institutions to deliver on their responsibilities.
“I shudder to say that any institution is living up to its mandate, because we are living in a country that is unfixed,” he said. “The ‘FixTheCountry’ demonstration in the country would not exist if the country was fixed.”
He added that there is no “institutional perfection,” pointing to both structural and illegal shortcomings. According to him, the law is often reactive, struggling to keep up with new methods of crime, which complicates enforcement. He described this as “a chase work.”
“There will be an innovative way in which crime would happen that the law did not even contemplate when it was being made. And then you must redesign the law to be able to go after it,” he explained.
“So many times, you may have the police charge a person before the court and tell the court, ‘Remand the person to give us time to investigate,’” he added.
The lawyer also described what he sees as “embedded practices of institutionalized corruption,” citing personal experiences from his legal practice. He recounted instances where officials from the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) allegedly approached clients privately, proposing underhanded deals to resolve tax issues.
In his final remarks, Oliver Barker Vormawor stated that there is “an inadequacy in the protection of the public purse.”
The interview was hosted by Thelma Tackie on the Main Discussion segment of the GTV Breakfast Show.
