The Chairman of Ghana's Constitutional Review Committee, Professor Henry Kwasi Prempeh, has emphasized the need for broad consensus among political actors, civil society organisations, and other stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of the country's ongoing constitutional reform process. He warned that if the proposed reforms are driven by political considerations or partisan interests, the country's constitutional framework risks being weakened. This call was made at a national stakeholder dialogue on the constitutional reform process organised by the Citizens' Platform for Constitutional Reform in Accra.
The national stakeholder dialogue aimed to build consensus among stakeholders and ensure that the proposed reforms reflect broad national interests. Prof. Prempeh explained that the recommendations and proposals in the Committee's report are designed as an interconnected system to address loopholes in the current Constitution, which has served Ghana for 30 years. He stressed that the next stage of the process cannot be reduced to a technical task of drafting, as this is the final stage in reform.
Prof. Prempeh cautioned that failure to build consensus around the proposed reforms could set an undesirable precedent for future constitutional review processes. He suggested that a constitutional requirement for periodic reviews could be included in the ongoing reform process to ensure that future reviews do not depend solely on the goodwill of a particular administration. This, he believes, will help maintain the integrity of the constitutional framework.
The Chairman of the Constitutional Review Committee also urged the government to ensure transparency throughout the process by publishing draft bills before they are finalised and giving the public an opportunity to study and respond to them. He further urged other stakeholders, including civil society organisations, trade unions, and the media, to clearly indicate the recommendations they support and raise critical questions that can help shape the outcome of the reform process.
Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas, African Union High Representative for Silencing the Guns, contributed to the dialogue virtually, saying that constitutional reforms must command broad national ownership and legitimacy. He proposed the development of a clear roadmap for the reform process and stressed the need to ensure that any referendum arising from the process remains a national decision.
Dr Chambas also called for adequate funding for the reform process and urged stakeholders to ensure that the proposed reforms address the concerns that necessitated the review in the first place. He emphasized that the success of the process will depend on the collective willingness of all stakeholders to place the long-term interests of the country above partisan and short-term considerations.
The stakeholders at the dialogue agreed on the need to keep the reform process open and transparent through sustained dialogue, consultation, and public participation. The national stakeholder dialogue was organised by the Citizens' Platform for Constitutional Reform, and it is expected that the agreed-upon measures will guide the implementation of the constitutional reforms in Ghana.
Key points
- Prof. Prempeh calls for broad consensus among stakeholders for successful implementation of Ghana's constitutional reform process.
- The proposed reforms are designed as an interconnected system to address loopholes in the current Constitution.
- Stakeholders agree on the need for transparency and public participation in the reform process.
