Ghana’s Constitution is defective, it needs a transformation – Bagbin

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has said the time is due for the 1992 Constitution to be transformed.

Referencing parts of Afrobarometer’s 2024 report, the speaker expressed concern on the growing disenchantment of many young Ghanaians with democracy and the possible consequences it may have for the nation.

According to Bagbin, the constitution, which forms the basis of Ghana's democracy, is riddled with inconsistencies and complexity, chief among them being the overabundance of authority concentrated in the executive branch, which threatens the delicate balance of power between the other branches of government.

The former Member of Parliament for Nadowli-Kaleo clarified that although the constitution has aided in maintaining political stability, the nation's overall development has suffered as a result.

He was speaking at the University of Ghana (UG) Alumni Lecture on the theme “30 Years of Parliamentary Democracy: The Journey Thus Far” in Accra on Thursday.

“The focus of the first brains behind drafting this constitution was to achieve political stability. If my guess is right, I must admit we have succeeded in doing just that at the expense of development. We now have to move on to focus on development. I don’t need to call on, but we must take up a constitutional transformation.”

“I agree with Ghanaians who say that there is nothing to reform. We have to transform everything. This constitution has many defects, and the time to fix those defects has been long overdue," a report by citinewsroom.com quotes him as saying.

“While the defects are too many, I will just highlight three of them that have impacted the work of parliament. One is the excessive executive power,” the Speaker of Parliament added.

KA

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