The Moderator of General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church Prof. Emmanuel Martey has said the 1992 constitution was crafted to suit former president Jerry Rawlings’ whims and caprices, and therefore must be changed.
‘Ghana’s 1992 constitution is ‘Rawlings phobic’ the articles in it are raw and was crafted to suit Rawlings’ persona’.
According to Prof Martey, during the regime of the former president, many people were “afraid of his persona” adding that the crafters of the constitution were no exception.
The constitution of Ghana is the supreme law of the Republic of Ghana and was approved on April 28, 1992 through a national referendum after 92 percent support.
It defines the fundamental political principles, establishing the structure, procedures, powers and duties of the government structure of the judiciary and legislature and spells out the fundamental rights and duties of a citizen.
But the Presby Moderator said it was necessary for the country to ‘demythologize the 1992 constitution’ and a new one must be created to address the modern needs of the modern Ghanaian.
‘So far, there hasn’t been any courage to demythologize this Rawlings phobic constitution,’ he told Citi FM.
He said it was important that government exercises patience to allow more discussions and relevant input to be made into what the Constitutional Review Implementation Committee is doing currently.
The Constitution Review Implementation Commission (CRIC) was constituted by late president John Evans Attah Mills in January 2010 to undertake a consultative review of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution.
However many civil society groups have called on the CRIC to halt the process for more engagements to be done.
A US-based Ghanaian professor, Stephen Kweku Asare has filed a suit at the Supreme Court seeking to nullify the constitution review process being undertaken by the CRIC.
The recommendations and proposals will be subjected to a vote at a referendum. Story by Myjoyonline/Faustine Akwa
