Constitution Day: a perspective

The theories of red light, green light and amber light were formulated by astute legal practitioners and economists many years ago, to promote both governmental and agency mandatory, efficient and effective operation of their obligation to citizens.

Ghana has had four constitutional regimes after independence, within the past sixty-four years, which is above half a century and by the 1992 Constitution, six years to go on retirement if Ghana were a Supreme Court Judge.

If the lifespan of a regime determines the success and development of that state, then the fourth and current republic has experienced a 28-year-old lifespan, more than any republic since independence in 1957.

Self-determination

Constitution is a legal framework of an establishment that governs it for successful operations and the realisation of its dependents.

The 1992 Constitution has as its initial statement, “We the People of Ghana, in exercise of our natural and inalienable right to establish a framework of governance …” Such declaration demonstrates the self-determination of the people to the exclusion of any other people.

Being the supreme law of the Ghana, to which all laws, rules, regulations, pronouncements, policies, etc., are to conform with, any contrary provision must be declared null and void by the Supreme Court. The Constitution is actually the spirit backing laws of the country.

Day

The government has thought it prudent to declare January 7 as Constitutional Day, which is also a public holiday; the commemoration of the day and dedicating it as a holiday.

Now experts exerted their energy, disregarding risks to produce a legal document that stands tall among other constitutions of the world.

My question is: what is the country doing for those experts who put the 1992 Constitution together and that has stood the test of time and become a successful legal instrument for the citizenry?

It is sad that during the commemoration of Constitution Day, the media and other organisations do not highlight the work and life of those experts.

The writer is a student at the Mountcrest University College,
Kanda, Accra.