1992 constitution worst in our history; it’s time to fix it – H. Kwasi Prempeh
The Executive Director of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Prof. Henry Kwasi Prempeh, says the current 1992 constitution is not-fit-for purpose.
In comparison with the country’s second constitution developed in 1969, Prof. Prempeh simply makes the point that “frankly, other than the Constitution of the First Republic, this [1992] constitution is, from a governance and people-centered perspective, easily the worst constitution in our political history.”
He also feels that, unlike previous constitutions, the 1992 version is the most profligate – a situation that has led to extremely wasteful public expenditure.
Prof. Prempeh, in a social media post, made reference to Members of Parliament (MPs) who have, by virtue of the Constitution, been empowered to enjoy a lot of privileges and benefits to the detriment of the average citizen.
Additionally, he said these MPs have failed to use their power to save the country from bad transactional agreements and subsequent judgment debts arising from contractual breaches of those deals.
In his opinion, the surest way to reverse this and to help Ghana is to “fix the constitution in the many places where it is irredeemably broken.”
Prof. Prempeh asserts that unlike in the past, MPs are now paid as full-time, salaried public officers, though they still draw allowances for committee sittings. He maintains that this has brought a sense of dysfunctionality in parliament.
“The 1992 Constitution is also the most profligate, in the sense that it invites wasteful growth in the size of government and in public expenditures. No wonder it has both attracted and spawned a political class in its own image. It has lasted longer than all the rest only because We the People are tired of and reject coups and the disruption and retrogression they bring and entail.”
“The longevity of this constitution is not because there is something intrinsically superior or great about the constitution itself; there isn’t at all. But this should not mean we must continue to put up with whatever is served us in the name of the constitution”, Prof. Premeph’s post stated.
Source: Citinewsroom
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