Next NDC Government Will Review The 1992 Constitution – Mahama Hints

John Dramani Mahama, former president and National Democratic Congress’ 2020 presidential flagbearer, has stated that the time is ripe for the 1992 Constitution to undergo some ‘tweaking.’

He disclosed in an October 12, 2022 interview with the Voice of America, VOA, Africa Service that a new NDC government will ‘look at the Constitution again.’

“One of the things that we would do when we come back, that is the NDC… one of the things that we would do is to like I said is strengthen state institutions and anti-corruption institutions but most importantly, look at the Constitution again.

“We have been operating this Constitution for more than 26 years and I think that the time has come for us to look at it again and do some tweaking in order that we can have a proper constitutional environment in which we can grow the economy. So those are some of the things that we would look at,” he stressed.

According to Mahama, given Ghana’s four-year term, “there is little in terms of infrastructure. We will do our best invest in education, health sector and economic infrastructure.”

He stressed that all efforts must ultimately be “geared towards creating opportunities for especially young people to be able to realise their full potential and find jobs in the economy.”

About the Constitutional Review Commission

The Constitution Review Commission, a presidential Commission of Inquiry, was set up in January 2010 by late President John Evans Atta-Mills.

The commission led by Prof. (Emeritus) Albert Kodzo Fiadjoe, was to consult with the people of Ghana on the operation of the 1992 Constitution and on any changes that need to be made to the Constitution.

The Commission was also tasked to present a draft bill for the amendment of the Constitution in the event that any changes are warranted.

Using a highly participatory qualitative inquiry methodology, the Commission directly and indirectly reached millions of Ghanaians (individuals, groups, institutions), including Ghanaians living abroad.

The total number of formal submissions received, processed, coded, and stored in a database by the Commission is 83,161. Millions of Ghanaians participated in the consultative processes of the Commission, directly or through traditional and new media, without formally making submissions, as reported by Ghanaweb.com.

The report captures the establishment, mandate, methodology, and processes of the Commission. It also summarises all the submissions received from Ghanaians on the review of the 1992 Constitution; provides the current state of the law on each distinct set of submissions; states the findings and observations of the Commission on the submissions; and puts forward the recommendations of the Commission on each set of submissions.