Former Chief Justice (CJ), Sophia Abena Boafoaa Akuffo, has reiterated her call for the review of Ghana’s constitution which she says has many defects to be amended.
She says the need for constitutional review should be one of the topmost priorities of the Council of State in its early days of office.
Speaking on Hot Issues on TV3 Sunday, February 23, 2025, the Council of State member said there were a number of issues with the constitution she raised at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) which she believes can keep members of the Council busy in the meantime until other issues come up.
Madam Akuffo was responding to certain critical issues the Council could also propose to the government to take a look at, aside from matters the President would present to the members to advise him on.
“For me, one of the primary things is simply the need for constitutional review because in that area, I have a number of issues which I think in IEA presentations, I’ve made quite clear and those are quite sufficient to keep us busy for a while we come up with other ideas as well. And that one too, from the pronouncement of the President, things are happening now,” she stated.
The former Chief Justice had earlier taken a swipe on a claim by former President William Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who insisted Ghana’s constitution needs no review.
President Akufo-Addo, in his final State of the Nation Address (SoNA) in Parliament Friday, January 03, 2025, dismissed the calls for a review of the 1992 Constitution, describing it as a perfect document having served the nation’s democracy for over three decades.
But according to Sophia Akuffo, an open-minded approach should be adopted to reform the Constitution to periodically update it to remain relevant to address contemporary challenges.
“I’ve never agreed with the former president that the Constitution is so perfect that it doesn’t need to be reviewed.
“The Constitution, being a living document, has to be nursed, nurtured, tweaked, and massaged. From time to time, we must take a look to see whether it continues in every respect to suit the current day purposes,” she said on Accra-based JoyNews Tuesday, January 07, 2025.
The review process, according to her, was crucial in a constitutional democracy, rejecting the assertion that the Constitution would lose its credibility if amended.
“There is nothing wrong with reviewing or revising a constitution to make sure that every provision serves the purposes of the people,” she stated.
She went in tandem with President Mahama’s position that the work of the constitutional review commission be revisited to implement some of the proposals it made for the document to serve the current needs of the people.
“I am fully in agreement with President Mahama that there should be a review of the process started over a decade ago. Unfortunately, it came to, how would I say? An unceremonious pause,” the former Chief Justice stated.
Sophia Akuffo pointed out that after more than three decades of using the current Constitution, certain provisions have become obsolete and need to be revised.
“We need to acknowledge that there are certain parts that are not working the way we had anticipated,” she remarked. “There are ways it can be better,” she held.
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