Editorial by Ghanaian Times: Scrap irrelevant or harsh legislation policies!!

Yesterday, we published two stories that were similar in their de­mands – amendment of certain constitutional provisions and policies.

In the first story on page 10, Nana Soglo Alloh IV, Otekple of Likpe and President of the Likpe Traditional Council has called for the amendment of Article 95 Clause 1 and Ar­ticle 100 Clause 1in the 1992 Constitution ahead of the 2024 general election, explaining that the two articles contradicted each other.

According to him, “Article 95 clause 1 says there shall be a Speaker of Parliament, who shall be elected by the mem­bers of Parliament (MPs), and Article 100 clause1states that before an MP takes his seat in Parliament, he must be sworn in by the Speaker.

In the face of this, he thinks the current practice where MPs elect the Speaker before he or she swears them in is unconsti­tutional or inappropriate and so wants the Chief Justice to first swear in the MPs to give them the legitimacy to elect the Speaker.

We are inclined to support the view of the noble chief but would like to stop short of further comments except to appeal to constitutional experts to give the suggestion particular attention.

We can see that if that suggestion has any basis, then one day someone or a group can question the authority or legitimacy of the Speaker.

In the second story on page 13, the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF) is calling for a review of some policies and legislation hamper­ing smooth business operations at the country’s ports of entry.

The GIFF argues, for instance, that the imposition of a Reference Price List (RPL) for the valuation of goods at the ports by the Board of Directors of the Ghana Revenue Author­ity contradicts international trade agreements, particularly those under the Trade Facilita­tion Agreement put in place by the World Trade Organisation.

The GIFF goes further to point out that Sections 67 and 68 of the Customs Act 2015 (Act 891) make it illegal to create a certain mini­mum value or RPL for valua­tion purposes.

It is more worrying to learn that the Exemptions Act, 2022 (Act 1083) has inadver­tently created obstacles in the clearance process, affecting not only private enterprises but also hindering even the clearance of government cargoes at the ports.

We have taken interest in these two stories because of their importance to peace and stability as well as the economic well-being of business people, consumers, and the country as a whole.

We think if circumstances have exposed the irrelevance of such legislation and policies, the authorities must give urgent attention to calls for a second look at them, amend them, and bring in replacements that can meet the exigencies of the time.

Let us chip in that there is a need for the government to listen to other calls for the amendment of constitutional provisions and policies that are not the subjects of our chosen stories but have issues to deal with.

One of such provision is Article 71 of the 1992 Consti­tution as it over-rewards certain groups of people for their services to the country.

Whether constitutional provi­sions or policies, once the people see them as undermining their very existence and likely to cause crises in the future, they must be scrapped or amended to forestall chaos.

Why should we continue to have constitutional provisions and policies that undermine the socio-economic development of the people?

Let us amend or completely replace them.