CRC Meets Operators Of Constitution

JJ Rawlings

All current and past officials who have directly operated the 1992 Republican Constitution are being consulted by the Constitution Review Commission (CRC) in order to tap their expertise for possible constitutional amendment.

They include all former and sitting Presidents and their Vice, past and present Speakers of Parliament, Chief Justices, retired Supreme Court judges as wells as leaders of all political parties that polled more than 0.5 per cent during the 2008 general elections.

The commission has decided to set aside the month of February 2011 to collate the views of these officers and so far, Dr. Edward Mahama and Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, flag-bearers of the People's National Convention (PNC) and Convention People's Party (CPP) during the 2008 general elections have made their submissions.

As at press time yesterday, Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, flag-bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), was expected to take his turn but Justice Joyce Bamford Addo, Speaker of Parliament; Ebenezer Begyina Sekyi Hughes, former Speaker and Justice Francis Kpegah, a retired Supreme Court judge had made their submissions.

Other important personalities expected to also contribute to the exercise include former Presidents JJ Rawlings and JA Kufuor, as well as former Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama and Chief Justice Georgina Wood.

In an interview in Accra yesterday, Dr. Raymond Atuguba, Executive Secretary of the CRC, said the commission was focusing on such important public office holders because their terms of reference were defined by the constitution.

'We write to them to make their submissions and after agreeing on the venue we then hear them on camera. The idea is to have peculiar insight into those who have operationalized the Constitution,' he said.

He noted, 'We have direct interface with them, know their minds. We look at their areas of expertise but if after everything they have other suggestions, we hear them.'

Dr. Atuguba said the commission had already concluded collating all public views, except for Braille submissions (from the blind) and submissions from the Diaspora.

'We received about 75,000 submissions and we have already come out with the top 25 issues that Ghanaians think need a second attention.'

It appears Ghanaians are of the opinion that the laws regulating the executive need pressing review.

Issues such as the payment of ex-gratia and emoluments of former Presidents and public office holders, whether or not ex-Presidents should be exempted from taxes, the number of ministers to be appointed from Parliament as well as the number of ministers to be appointed by the President have come up strongly for consideration.

Furthermore, the decoupling of the Attorney General's Department from the role of the Minister of Justice, whether or not Presidential and Parliamentary elections should be held at separate dates, and what happens when a sitting Vice President leaves the party on whose ticket he was voted into power have also been proposed.

The issue of whether or not all Supreme Court judges should hear all cases, whether or not there should be a Constitutional Court to hear only constitutional issues, whether or not the District Chief Executives should be elected and the matter of the President appointing 30 percent of members of an assembly are also on the bill.

Also, the issue of whether or not the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) cannot investigate an issue without an identifiable complainant, whether or not to give CHRAJ the powers to prosecute corruption cases, whether or not chiefs can partake in active partisan politics, whether or not the retirement age should be maintained featured prominently during the deliberation.

Finally, the issue of whether or not the indemnity clause of the Transitional Provisions should be repealed and whether or not the death penalty should be abolished has attracted public comment for the attention of the commission.

By William Yaw Owusu