The Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Sulemana Braimah, has claimed that former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo showed little interest in reviewing Ghana’s 1992 Constitution while in office.
The Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Sulemana Braimah, has claimed that former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo showed little interest in reviewing Ghana’s 1992 Constitution while in office.
Speaking on **JoyNews’ Newsfile **on Saturday, August 29, Mr Braimah said his previous interactions with the former President had caused him to doubt whether the constitutional review committee established under his administration would produce any meaningful outcome.
According to him, he was part of a delegation of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) that met Mr Akufo-Addo during his presidency to discuss the need for constitutional reforms, especially areas that will help curb corruption in the country.
Mr Braimah claimed the former President argued at the meeting that the Constitution had sustained Ghana’s democracy for decades and, therefore, saw no compelling reason for it to be altered.
“I had been part of some CSOs engagement with the (former) president (Nana Akufo-Addo) on certain provisions within the constitution and the need for constitutional amendment, particularly when it comes to fighting corruption and President Akufo-Addo on all occasions was very clear that as far as he was concerned this is the constitution that has guaranteed our democracy for the longest period and therefore we needed to be careful with tempering with the constitution,” he claimed.
“So to have a process initiated under a leader who had that perspective, I wondered whether we were going to make progress on that,” he added.
Mr Braimah made the remarks while discussing the work of the Constitutional Review Committee established by President John Mahama and the subsequent formation of an 11-member committee to oversee the implementation of the proposed constitutional reforms.
On Friday, August 28, Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Justice, Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, inaugurated an 11-member Constitution Review Implementation Committee (CRIC) to begin work on proposals for the review of the country’s 1992 Constitution.
The inauguration follows the government’s release of its position paper on recommendations contained in the report of the Constitution Review Committee chaired by Professor H. Kwesi Prempeh.
The new committee has been tasked with examining the government’s position paper alongside the recommendations of the Constitution Review Committee and developing a comprehensive framework for implementing the proposals.
