Story: News DESK

  D&D Fellow in Public Law and Justice at Ghana Centre  for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Prof Stephen Kwaku Asare has outlined Ghana’s problem with respect to the current constitution.

According to him, an imperfect constitution is not the problem of Ghana but that the lack of fundamental commitment to establish a constitutional order is a major problem of Ghana.

Kwaku Azar, as he is known affectionately, explained in a Facebook write up that, the problem with constitution is that they are easy to write and promulgate but they do not necessarily establish a constitutional order.

He said, “the former  is  just a beautiful text but the latter requires an unwavering commitment to the ground rules, norms, practices and processes indicated by the text.”

Azar noted, the commitment was  required not only of the citizens but also of the administrative structures, political parties, media, judicial systems etc. that have been assigned specific roles integral to the working of the constitution.”

On Sunday, September 5, 2021 Prof Alpha Conde, was ousted by Guinean Special Forces, who have since promised to change the country’s political makeup.

President Alpha Conde, in October 2020, won a controversial third term, but only after pushing through a new constitution in March 2020 allowing him to sidestep the country’s two-term limit.

His actions had been condemned by the opposition and described as an abuse of power.

Conde’s inauguration was graced by prominent personalities across the world including Presidents from the African continent.

Recent military takeovers in Mali and Chad have ensued ahead of Guinea’s.

Meanwhile, ECOWAS has since condemned the coup in Guinea and has demanded the release of Alpha Conde who was arrested by the military.

ECOWAS is further demanding a return to constitutional rule, stating that failure will attract sanctions.

Reacting to this, Prof Asare observed that all constitutions were  imperfect, hence their amendment architecture.

“The Ghanafuo [Ghana’s] problem is not that we have an imperfect Constitution. All constitutions are imperfect, hence their amendment architecture.

“The Ghanafuo problem is that we lack the fundamental commitment that is required to establish a constitutional order,” he added. “But it is not just the Constitution. It is any law. We are outstanding at writing, rewriting, changing and commissioning statutes, regulations, [and] ordinances that we have no intention to be bound by or to follow.”