Day: January 7, 2024

Mr John Dramani Mahama, Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is scheduled to visit the Volta region from Thursday, January 11 to Friday, January 12,2024.

The tour themed:’Building the Ghana we want together,’ would enable the Flagbearer to interact with communities, stakeholders, traditional leaders and the citizenry.

Information gathered by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) revealed that the tour would begin with an ‘entry meeting with NDC stakeholders’ at Sogakope.

Mr Mahama would also hold a community engagements at Tegbi and Aflao while commissioning the Ketu North Party office and addressing a mammoth rally.

He would also pay a courtesy call on the Volta Regional House of Chiefs in Ho to begin the day two of activities and later address a townhall meeting at the Ho Technical University.

Mr Mahama would round up his tour at the St Francis College of Education, Hohoe with a campus connect which would see students, teacher Unions and stakeholders in education in attendance.

Source: Ghana N
ews Agency

The Progressive People’s Party (PPP) has reiterated the need for the 1992 Constitution to be amended to improve the governance system of the country.

After 30 years of the promulgation of the 1992 Constitution, the party said a review of some aspects, which did not advance the course of democracy in the country must be effected to reflect the times.

The party identified pertinent portions to be reviewed as; election of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) and total separation of powers.

Others are decoupling of the Office of the Attorney-General from the Ministry of Justice, introduction of the Public Declaration of Assets Regime, and clarification of eligibility of Ghanaians in the Diaspora to hold public office.

Mr Felix Mantey, the Director of Communication of the party, said until aspects of the Constitution were amended to meet development goals, celebrating that day would amount to nothing.

He was speaking to the Ghana News Agency in Cape Coast on the commemoration of the
national Constitution Day observed on January 7, each year.

The Day seeks to celebrate the coming into force of the 1992 constitution of Ghana and the sustainability of the Fourth Republic .

Buttressing his views, he said Article 243 which dealt with the election of MMDCEs must be reviewed to stop abuse by the executive.

This will prevent abuse of power to address the challenge where the President has to appoint the majority of ministers from Parliament.

That, he explained, would promote a clear separation of powers between the executive and legislative branch of government and help Parliament perform its oversight responsibility over the executive.

Mr Mantey also called for amendment to separate the Ministry of Justice from the Office of the Attorney-General.

‘It is important that the Minister of Justice, who is the government lawyer, is not the same person who is the people’s lawyer, and prosecuting crimes in the country.

‘People in the government also commit crimes, so we need someone who is outside
the government to prosecute all crimes,’ he said.

Mr Mantey stressed the need for the public declaration of assets and liabilities to be published before and after one occupied and left public office to facilitate the fight against corruption.

He said the Constitution Review Commission (CRC), a Presidential Commission of Inquiry, set up in January 2010, solicited views of the people on the operation of the 1992 Constitution and the changes required where necessary.

The Commission was also tasked to present a draft bill for the amendment of the Constitution; however, he expressed disappointment that successive governments had failed to implement the recommendations contained in the CRC’s report.

‘The massive amount of money invested in the Constitutional Review exercise must not be allowed to go waste.

‘It shall remain a scar on the conscience of right-thinking Ghanaians if these fundamental changes and many other brilliant recommendations contained in the CRC’s report continue to gather dust,’ he added.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Government has issued a stern warning to people seeking to torpedo Ghana’s democratic path ahead of the December 07 General Election.

‘It will not be under my watch that any adventurer will seek to torpedo the democratic path on which we are embarked,’ President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo assured.

In a message to mark the 2024 Constitution Day, which falls on January 07, he said his Administration was bent on seeing to it that ‘we have a free, fair and transparent election in December 2024’.

‘You have my word! Ghana will be the victor of such an outcome, not any individual party or candidate,’ he asserted.

The Constitution Day is intended to acknowledge the nation’s collective efforts at ensuring that the tenets of democracy, rule of law and principles of constitutionalism are upheld.

It is designed to remind the citizens of their collective commitment to a regime of uninterrupted constitutional order.

The Fourth Republic has now endured far longer than any of the three previous republics, which w
ere all cut short by military interventions.

Ghana goes to this year’s polls with its reputation at stake as it seeks to consolidate its enviable record as the beacon of democracy and good governance in the West African sub-Region.

Analysts have described the elections as very critical in the nation’s pursuit to advance the Rule of Law and constitutional rule.

Over the last three decades, the West African nation has conducted eight successful elections under the Fourth Republican Constitution – a feat that has helped to cement peace and stability amid the growing political instability in the sub-Region.

‘I have spent my adult life fighting for our individual and collective rights, and it is, therefore, gratifying to note that the nation’s adherence to democracy has not waned.

‘We know that there are no quick fixes to the challenges confronting us, and, as we have seen in recent times, democratic structures of governance are capable of accommodating the most difficult of circumstances,’ the President stat
ed.

He entreated all stakeholders, including the Electoral Commission (EC), political parties and their leaders, the electorate and citizenry, to work assiduously to consolidate Ghana’s democracy to maintain the nation’s pride of place on the continent as a model of democracy in Africa.

‘At the end of it all, there should be no lingering doubt about the legitimacy of the election, and the winning candidates, on the conclusion of the process, should receive the unalloyed support of all.

‘That is how we can strengthen our democracy and the peace and stability of our nation,’ he stated.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Majority Leader and Leader of Government Business in Parliament has reiterated that the survival of the 1992 Republican Constitution hinges largely on its holistic review.

In a statement to mark the celebration of the Fourth Republican Constitution Day, January 7, Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu urged Ghanaians to summon the will to consummate the process.

‘As we commemorate the day set aside to celebrate the genesis of the Fourth Republican Constitution, I salute all Ghanaians, especially, those who participated in crafting, as well as those who have been active in activating, implementing, interpreting, and reviewing the 1992 Constitution,’ he said.

‘As one people in one nation with a common destiny, it must be our collective strategic imperative to ensure the survival of Constitutionalism.

‘Today, January 7, 2024, for me marks 31 continuous years of intimate interaction with the 1992 Constitution, the initial implementation of which, was paradoxically, superintended by an unconstit
utional regime.’

He said the vast experiences garnered affirm his conviction that all the efforts and attempts at amending and reviewing the Constitution must be consolidated, harmonised and brought to fruition.

Source: Ghana News Agency