A former presidential spokesperson to late President John Evans Atta Mills, Samuel Koku Sitsofe Anyidoho, has expressed worry over the abandonment of the ‘White Paper‘ presented by the Constitutional Review Commission after the demise of the former president.
He says the report presented by the Commission was supposed to have been implemented by the governments that took over after Professor Mills, but all turned a blind eye on it after over a decade of making the document ready.
Speaking on Pae Mu Ka, an afternoon political show on Onua FM/TV Thursday, September 28, 2023, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Atta Mills Institute noted his outfit propelled the coming into being of the document by undertaking several grounds work for the Commission but has been abandoned after the work was completed.
Mr. Anyidoho was speaking about how the Attah Mills Institute has been faring over the years.
“The Atta Mills Institute is more about public policy and how we would contribute to shape the political landscape of the country and they all stemmed from President Mills’ intention to make changes in the constitution, the reason he set up the Constitution Review Commission. We were doing the advocacy work by doing the base work for the Constitution Review which was even completed for the Committee to even present a White Paper,” he explained.
“Unfortunately, after President Mills’ death, all successive governments have not looked at it but we always hear about it. The [Trades Union Congress] TUC are even talking about it this morning. Former Chief Justice also spoke about it saying our constitution must be reviewed.
According to Mr. Anyidoho, the late president made it a priority by codifying it in their constitution due to the excessive powers that are wielded by the president alone.
“If you’ve been closer to the seat before, you’ll know about it and be passionate about it. That is why Mills made it part of our manifesto. The constitution gives too much power to the president,” he noted.
The Constitution Review Commission was a presidential Commission of Inquiry which was set up in January 2010 to consult Ghanaians on the operation of the 1992 Constitution. The Commission was tasked to recommend and make changes to the Constitution as certain provisions might have outlived their usefulness.
Also among the Commission’s task was to present a draft bill for the amendment of the Constitution in the event that any changes are warranted.
Keenly among the adjustments that were anticipated in the Review was to reduce the powers of the President which many have complained to be too much. Several concerns have been raised about the powers of the president being too much and fostering the winner-takes-all system. But many years after the report was presented, successive governments have failed to implement it.
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