Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu
The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs held a Stakeholder Consultation Validation Workshop on the Preliminary Report of the Constitutional Review and Consultative Committee (CRCC) on the Review of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana in Accra.
The CRCC was formed last year by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs with multi-sectoral representatives and is chaired by Ms Clara Casser Tee.
The committee’s preliminary report was submitted to the Parliamentary Ministry earlier this year.
The committee considered the 2010 Constitutional Reform Commission (CRC) report and its accompanying White Paper, as well as other provisions that could be subject to review.
The initiative was aimed at enabling the Ministry to follow up on the initiative launched in 2010, take stock of issues that have arisen since then and identify specific provisions of the 1992 Constitution that could spark debate towards a review of the 1992 Constitution.
The objective of the three-day workshop themed “Building Consensus and Promoting Ownership on the Review of the 1992 Constitution” was to give stakeholders a final opportunity to review the CRCC’s preliminary report, build consensus and foster ownership of the constitutional review process.
In his opening remarks, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, said that over the past six years, his ministry has been consulting various segments of Ghanaian society on the use and application of the 1992 Republican Constitution and its impact on ensuring efficient and effective governance that delivers “the benefits of freedom, equal opportunity and prosperity” to all Ghanaians.
He said the diverse stakeholders that the ministry engaged included the Attorney-General (representing the Office of the Presidency), the Minister of State, the offices of former President John Agyekum Kufuor, former President John Dramani Mahama, the Ghana National Assembly, Members of Parliament, the Judiciary, independent governing bodies, civil society organisations, think tanks, academia, chief executives, employers, employees, trade unions, religious organisations and the general public.
The Minister said these people and organisations recognise the progress the country has made since its rebirth under the Fourth Republic Constitution in January 1993, but are unanimous in the view that the people are not reaping the full benefits of democracy.
In that regard, he said he had concluded that there was an urgent need to revisit the 1992 Constitution with a view to improving the delivery of governance in order to scale up well-thought-out, structured and sustainable national development and ensure improved living conditions for Ghanaians.
Recalling that in 2010, President John Evans Atta Mills set up the Constitutional Review Committee (CRC), led by Professor Fiajo, to fulfil an election promise, Kyei Mensah-Bonsu said, “The committee concluded that the 1992 Constitution was a solid foundation for good governance in Ghana.”
He said it was the foundation for the institutions that flourished under the Fourth Republic and had the potential to guide the development of the country’s institutions towards peace, prosperity and a prosperous life for its people.
“Under this constitution, five presidential and parliamentary elections have been held (as of 2010), two of which involved a transition of power from the ruling party to the opposition. However, the commission concluded that there is much that needs to be improved in the constitution and its implementation,” he said.
He said it was no wonder that the CRC report was aptly named “From a Political Constitution to a Developmental Constitution” with the aim of moving from “Democratic Politics” to “Democratic Economics”.
He said the process had been halted by legal issues, adding that ministries, individuals and many other government and non-government actors had been keeping the agenda alive.
“We all agree that we cannot let the hard work and great achievements that have been made go to waste. Hence, CRCC was expected to fill the gap to make up for the time lag,” he said.
CRCC Chairperson Clara Casser Tee noted in her presentation that the CRCC report recommended replacing the death penalty in the 1992 Constitution with life imprisonment.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for Tamale South, Haruna Idris, has reiterated the need for a constitutional reform report to resolve the issue of winner-take-all in the nation’s political system.
