REVIEW OUR CONSTITUTION (JANUARY 6)

President J. A. Kufuor yesterday spoke about the State of the Nation to Members of Parliament (MPs) as his last constitutional mandate to the people of Ghana.
Looking at the atmosphere in Parliament, especially after the fiercely contested general election and presidential run-off, one could conclude that the country’s fabric had been restored.
The President raised certain fundamental constitutional issues that the incoming administration, in consultation with other political parties and civil society groups, must address in order to deepen our fledgling democracy.
The President recommended to Parliament a system which would retain the independence of the Electoral Commission but provide it with a specific tenure of office.
In drawing attention to that dilemma, the President said, “The country has been fortunate with the current commission which, by and large, has conducted itself professionally. There is no doubt, however, that generally it is risky to have a referee who enjoys permanent tenure.”
The President also pointed out that a four-year term for a President of a country such as Ghana, which he described as “a struggling developing nation with weak institutions”, might be short and recommended a five-year term which is renewable.
There is also the problem of appointing majority of ministers from the Legislature, which poses a serious challenge to the doctrine of Separation of Powers between the Executive and the Legislature.
Sixteen years into the practice of our democracy, the Daily Graphic believes that the time has come for some amendments to be made, particularly to provisions that are not entrenched and may not require a referendum to amend.
As it is commonly said, laws are made for man and not man for laws. Therefore, it is high time, even within the constraints imposed on us by the rigid nature of our Constitution, we found ways of adopting conventions to lessen the burden on our governance process.
Furthermore, the outcome of our elections shows clearly that the people have demonstrated maturity, despite the closeness of the race.
For the second time in less than a decade, the people have transferred power from the ruling government to an opposition political party.
The goings-on as far as transitional arrangements are concerned clearly show that pretty soon the country will be at peace with itself, as all the political forces build bridges of friendship for the task of nation-building.
However, the Daily Graphic reminds the next administration and Parliament that they have a duty to fine tune some of the grey areas in the Constitution so that our democracy can be more functional and deliver to the expectation of all.
That way, we may be fulfilling the injunctions placed on us by the preamble of the Constitution, which states in part, “We the people of Ghana, in exercise of our natural and inalienable right to establish a framework of government which shall secure for ourselves and posterity the blessings of liberty, equality of opportunity and prosperity ...”.