The government should publish draft bills linked to Ghana’s proposed constitutional reforms before they are finalised, the Executive Director of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Prof. H. Kwasi Prempeh, has said.
He said releasing the proposed legislation would allow citizens, political parties, civil society organisations and other interested groups to study the changes and take part in shaping them.
Prof. Prempeh made the remarks at a stakeholder dialogue on the Constitutional Reform Implementation Process. The meeting was organised by the Citizens Platform on Constitutional Reform with support from the British High Commission.
Focus on consensus
Prof. Prempeh said the reform process should involve more than preparing and passing legislation, arguing that the implementation stage needed sufficient time for consultation and consensus-building.
He said constitutional amendments could have lasting consequences for Ghana’s democratic and governance institutions, making broad participation important before decisions were concluded.
The CDD-Ghana executive director urged the government not to rush the process. He warned that reforms could encounter serious problems if those affected by them believed they had been left out of the discussions.
“Even a proposal that many might consider worthwhile will fail to reach the finished line. A reform that collapses after so much public expenditure, time and effort is not a saving of time.”
He added: “Consensus built early is far cheaper than consensus that feels late.”
Wider scrutiny requested
Prof. Prempeh called for political parties, civil society groups and other relevant stakeholders to be given a meaningful opportunity to examine the reform proposals before the draft bills were completed.
He said this would help identify disagreements at an early stage, giving stakeholders the chance to address them before substantial resources had been spent on implementation.
The comments come as Ghana enters the implementation phase of proposed constitutional reforms, following several years of discussion about possible changes to the country’s constitutional and governance framework.
CDD-Ghana’s position places particular emphasis on making the process transparent and ensuring the public and organised stakeholders can contribute before the legislation is finalised.
It also underlines the importance of securing broad agreement at an early stage, rather than attempting to resolve opposition only after the government has committed significant time, money and effort to putting the reforms into effect.
