Constitution Review Committee holds stakeholder engagements

Former Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo, and former Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye, have presented proposals from the Institute of Economic Affairs on constitutional reforms to the Constitution Review Committee (CRC).

The proposals, which covered all chapters of the 1992 Constitution, were received on behalf of the committee by its chairman, Prof. H. Kwesi Prempeh.  

Prof. Prempeh, on behalf of the CRC, thanked Justice Akuffo and Prof. Oquaye for the proposals and also for their participation in the Constitution review process.

The stakeholder engagements form part of the committee’s ongoing review process.

The CRC began its first stakeholder engagements from March 18, 2025 in Accra and it is expected to continue till mid-to-end of April.

The first presentation on the Natural Resources thematic area was delivered by Prof. Kwame Gyan of the University of Ghana.

The second day for the Lands and Natural Resources cluster saw the submissions from civil society organisations (CSOs) on natural resources, Nana SKB Asante, former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo, among others.

Revised schedule

Meanwhile, the CRC has announced a change in its stakeholder engagement schedule due to the government-declared Eid-Ul-Fitr holidays on Monday, March 31and Tuesday, April 1, 2025, a statement signed and issued by the secretary to the committee, Dr Rainer Akumperigya, said.

The statement said the committee would resume the engagements from April 2 with the Political Branches (Executive & Legislature) and the Judiciary making submissions.

The committee expressed its gratitude to those who participated in the successful engagements under the natural resources, local government and decentralisation thematic clusters.

Interview

In an earlier interview with the Daily Graphic, the CRC’s Chairman, Prof. Prempeh, said the primary goal of the committee was to ensure that any proposed changes to the country's Constitution would not exacerbate existing problems, but rather provide solutions.

He said the objective of the committee was to improve governance, social cohesion and transparency in the country.

These, he explained, were to make government more efficient and effective, reduce tension in politics and promote national unity, ensure that institutions are more responsive to the people, encourage citizens to engage in the democratic process, build trust in public institutions and promote good governance.

Principles

To achieve that, he said the committee has established a set of principles to guide it in its work.

These principles, Prof. Prempeh said, would serve as a benchmark for evaluating proposals, with the ultimate aim of strengthening institutions and promoting public trust.

He cited for instance that the work of the CRC should address the polarisation in the country's public services, particularly in the aftermath of every election.