The Constitution Review Commission chaired by H. Kwasi Prempeh on December 22 presented its report to President John Mahama.
The presentation ceremony took place at the Jubilee House.
Here are six key recommendations made by the Committee:
Recommendations from the Constitutional Review Committee
- Reforming the Presidency and Executive
- The presidential term should be extended from four years to five years. Additionally, the minimum age to qualify for the presidency should be lowered from forty to thirty years.
- The President’s salary, allowances, and facilities should be subject to tax, and an Independent Public Emoluments Commission should determine the salaries of the President and other Article 71 office holders.
- To ensure a clearer separation of powers, the Committee recommends that no Member of Parliament (MP) should be appointed as a Minister of State, and the total number of Ministers (including deputies) should be capped at 57.
- Criminal proceedings should be permitted against a person within four years of ceasing to be President for acts done in a personal capacity during their term.
- Enhancing Legislative and Electoral Effectiveness
- The size of Parliament should be capped at 276 members.
- Citizens of Ghana by birth who hold multiple citizenships should be eligible to contest for Parliament without renouncing their other citizenship.
- The Committee proposes an Independent Registrar and Regulator of Political Parties and Campaigns (IRRPC) to manage party registrations and regulate campaign financing to reduce the “monetization” of politics.
- To make the document more adaptable, the Committee suggests a “semi-entrenched” status for certain provisions, allowing them to be amended by a 75% parliamentary majority rather than a national referendum.
- Strengthening Accountability and the Judiciary
- Anti-Corruption: A new Independent Anti-Corruption and Ethics Commission (AEC) should be established with the exclusive power to prosecute corruption, taking this authority away from the Attorney-General.
- Judicial Reforms: The Supreme Court should be capped at 15 justices (the Chief Justice plus 14 others). The Chief Justice should serve a single, non-renewable 10-year term.
- Asset Declaration: The asset declaration regime should be strengthened by requiring the Auditor-General to verify the truth of declarations and allowing the unsealing of these records upon submission.
- Local Governance and Development
- Election of MMDCEs: Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) should be elected rather than appointed by the President.
- Fiscal Decentralization: The District Assembly Common Fund should be increased to at least 10% of total national revenues.
- National Development Plan (NDP): The NDP should be binding on all governments and approved by a two-thirds majority in Parliament to ensure policy consistency across different administrations.
- Rights, Justice, and Environment
- The Committee recommends completely abolishing the death penalty from the Constitution.
- To combat illegal mining (Galamsey), the Committee proposes creating the offence of “ecocide” with stiff punitive sanctions.
- New protections should be added, including the right to food in custody, the right to housing (prohibiting homelessness during state displacement), and digital privacy rights.
- Management of Natural Resources
- Public lands and natural resources should no longer be vested in the President but in the People of Ghana, to be held in trust by the State.
- At least 3% of gross revenue from natural resource extraction should be allocated directly to the communities where the resources are exploited.
