Ghana needs a system that allows for the removal of incompetent govt before election – Kpessa-Whyte

A research fellow with the History and Politics Department of the Institute of African Studies (IAS), University of Ghana, Prof Michael Kpessa-Whyte, has called for an amendment of Ghana’s Constitution to allow for the immediate removal of non-performing governments.

In a tweet shared on Wednesday, July 5, 2023, Dr Kpessa-Whyte said that waiting to change an incompetent government after four is too long a time and costly.

He suggested that a democratic system that allows non-performing presidents to be removed before elections would save the country a lot of resources.

“Ghana needs a constitutional provision to allow "we the people" to cut short the incompetence of any government through a democratic RECALL so that we can collectively avoid burden of waiting and wasting away under a locked-in election cycle,” the academic wrote.

The Constitution of Ghana allows for a change in government after every four years through presidential elections.

Also, presidents are allowed to serve for only two terms. Each term is made up of four years, meaning presidents can serve for a maximum of 8 years.

View Dr Kpessa-Whyte’s tweet below:

Ghana needs a constitutional provision to allow "we the people" to cut short the incompetence of any government through a democratic RECALL so that we can collectively avoid burden of waiting and wasting away under a locked-in election cycle.

— Prof. Michael Kpessa-Whyte (@kpessawhyte) July 5, 2023