Government to amend 1992 Constitution

Mr. Fritz Baffour, Minister of Information

The Minister of Information, Mr. Fritz Baffour has said Government will soon set up a five-member committee to facilitate the process of amending the 1992 Constitution.

He said: “the decision to review certain aspects of the constitution was arrived at following the recommendations contained in the report of the nine-member Constitution Review Commission (CRC).”

The CRC was constituted by President John Evans Atta Mills on January 1, 2010, to undertake a consultative review of the 1992 Constitution.

Mr. Baffour disclosed these at a media engagement on the report of the CRC and a two-day engagement, being attended by more than 100 media practitioners drawn from Brong-Ahafo, Ashanti and Eastern Regions.

Mr. Baffour explained that the government per a white paper, issued in June, this year, accepted about 90 per cent of the commission's recommendation, and appealed to the media to help sensitize the public about the contents of both the CRC's report and the government white paper.

Touching on the impending General Election, the Minister said that the media had an important role to play in the maintenance of peace and security.

Mr. Baffour advised Ghanaians to be firm and condemn selfish politicians, who deliberately incite their followers or make statements to threaten the peace and stability of the country.

Professor (Emeritus) Albert Kodzo Fiadjoe, former chairman of the CRC, said that 83,161 of submissions to the commission were received from the general public.

He said the work of the Commission had received acclimation all over the world, including from the United Nations with Tunisia and South Africa requesting to learn from Ghana's experience.

Prof. Fiadjoe said already the CRC had received learning delegations from Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Kenya, Sudan and Netherlands.

He said that the review exercise was not prompted by a cataclysmic national breakdown, as it was the norm with several countries.

“We do know from history that when constitutions fail, nations disintegrate as examples of Ivory Coast, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Zimbabwe clearly demonstrate,” Prof. Fiadjoe said.