Kwame Jantuah, a private legal practitioner has said that the 1992 constitution must go through a comprehensive review after 30 years of existence.
He indicated that some clauses of the constitution must be changed to meet contemporary times.
Speaking on Asaase Radio’s news analysis and current affairs show – The Forum – on Saturday (30 April), Jantuah said “the constitution is a living document and because it’s a living document, some of us feel 30 years is a long time. Many things have changed; we’re now a youthful population, technology is taking over, mindsets have changed and certain occupations that weren’t alive 30 years ago are now alive today. And so, yes, there has to be a change of the constitution and if not a change, a review.
“We should have a clause in the constitution where it stipulates reviewing the constitution after a certain duration of time because it’s a living document. And that’s one thing that I felt the president will also talk about. The mere fact that to some degree the constitution has served us, however, there are some parts of the constitution that needs to be looked at that need to be reviewed.”
He added, “it is not a question of partisan politics. It’s a question of national consensus whereby because the constitution is the supreme law of the land, we all need to sit around the table and discuss it. And because we spent over US$6 million looking at the review process of the constitution, it’ll be the best place to start.”
Challenges
According to Jantuah, the constitution has had its fair share of challenges that have not helped the progress of the country.
He said: “Although we have a constitution, has party manifestos helped us? I mean, look at the challenges we’ve had with the electoral system, look at the challenges we’ve had with even Parliament, look at the challenges we’ve had with the executive, and to some degree, the challenges we’ve had with the judiciary and we have a constitution, should we not look at it [constitution]? Look at the fundamental human rights issues in the constitution, there are so many areas that perhaps need a review.”
Listen to Jantuah in the audio below:
“Be grateful”
Meanwhile, Emmanuel Akwetey, the executive director of the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG), has expressed disappointment with the low interest in celebrating the remarkable things Ghana has achieved 30 years after the country approved the 1992 constitution.
Dr Akwetey said Ghanaians must be grateful for the stability and peace that the 1992 constitution has brought over the course of three decades.
“I think it is commendable that we have had or [have] found a scale of sustaining the multiparty constitutional democracy that we have. But as we move further … we ask ourselves: ‘Are we still satisfied with it?’” he told Kwaku Nhyira-Addo on The Asaase Breakfast Show on Friday (29 April 2022).
“I think it is remarkable that, on the 30th anniversary of the most stable democracy or republic or constitution, there was no buzz about it anywhere in town,” he said.
“In fact, some people were surprised that the president was going to speak and the announcement also came late.
He added: “So that tells you that we are a bit unhappy, or maybe seriously unhappy. Because this is a cause to celebrate, this is an achievement and yet we don’t feel happy about the development given …
“I think, for me, that is the sad part of it.”
Nicholas Brown
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