Five-year presidency will give governments more time to deliver — Kofi Bentil

A Senior Vice President of IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil, has backed the proposal to extend Ghana’s presidential term from four years to five years.

This comes after the Constitutional Review Committee, chaired by Professor H. Kwasi Prempeh, recommended extending the presidential and parliamentary terms from four years to five years.

The committee said the current four-year cycle leaves governments with limited time to settle into office, implement policies and prepare for the next election.

The government has subsequently accepted the proposal, with Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, saying a five-year term would provide more time for policy formulation, implementation and assessment.

Reacting to this, Bentil argued that the additional year would give governments more time to implement their programmes and remove some of the excuses presidents give for seeking a second term.

Speaking on TV3’s KeyPoint programme on Saturday, September 12, he said the difference between a four-year and five-year term is only one year and should not be viewed as a major change, particularly because Presidents often argue that four years is insufficient to deliver their programmes.

“When we do this five-year thing, we take away every excuse. That is one. Number two, if we have a five-year presidency, you will start seeing a one-term president because if you don't do well, that's it," he said.

The policy analyst further dismissed concerns that a five-year term could give poorly performing presidents too much time in office, arguing that a single five-year term would still be enough to expose a president’s performance.

He also stressed that presidential candidates should enter office with clear plans because governing is different from campaigning and the dynamics change once a person becomes president.

“I think it makes sense after running the four years for 30 something years, and the persons who have occupied that office coming out to tell us that look, there are problems. The first year is gone. The last year is gone. You have only two years basically, and you are not able to do too much in two years," he stressed.