Former Chief Justice (CJ), Sophia Abena Boafoa Akuffo, has taken a swipe on former President Akufo-Addo’s claim that 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 the former Chief Justice, 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 Madam Akuffo, is crucial in a constitutional democracy, rejecting the assertion that the Constitution will 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.
