By Angela Adu-Asomaning
Chairman of the Constitution Review Committee and Executive Director of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development, CDD, Professor Kwasi Prempeh, has been speaking about the key findings of the committee’s work during an academic lecture at Wisconsin International University College in Accra.
Speaking on the topic “Review of Ghana’s Constitution: Findings and the Way Forward,” Prof. Prempeh noted that although Ghana has experienced peaceful transfers of power and respect for presidential term limits and the Constitution’s longevity does not mean it is without flaws.
He explained that the review aims to address governance challenges and strengthen democratic institutions rather than suggesting that the Constitution is fundamentally defective.
He added that the process must reflect the views of a new generation of citizens and consider emerging regional developments, including the resurgence of coups in parts of West Africa.
He said nationwide consultations during the review revealed strong public demand for constitutional reforms, with many citizens calling for significant changes to improve governance and development outcomes.
According to him, while Ghanaians value elections, many are frustrated that leadership changes have not translated into better public services, infrastructure, or economic opportunities.
“Ghanaians want a change in the quality and the outcomes of governance. And I think this is a very crucial point. The fact that changing leaders and parties does not appear to lead to substantive and sustainable change in the material conditions of the people is an important finding of this exercise,’’ he stated.
Prof. Prempeh noted that during the committee’s engagements, citizens criticized the winner-takes-all political system, arguing that it allows the ruling party to dominate state resources. He said this has effectively created a cycle where political power alternates between major parties roughly every eight years, leaving many Ghanaians frustrated and increasingly disengaged from the political process.
“A second related finding is that, Ghanaians expressed opinion that they are tired of this winner-take-all system of politics. A system where the party whose candidate wins control of the presidency essentially gets to capture the state and control all the job opportunities, contracts, scholarships and other public opportunities,’’ he emphasised.
He emphasized that Ghanaians seek more meaningful political representation beyond voting, advocating direct election of local leaders such as MCEs and DCEs and for more responsive local governance. At the national level, he added, citizens are calling for increased engagement and greater transparency from their Members of Parliament.
“A third finding is that Ghanaians want better or more effective political representation and participation beyond just voting in elections once every four years. And they want this at both the national and the local levels. Citizens also feel that MPs do not engage them or their constituency-level problems enough, “he stated.
He stated that Ghanaians raised concerns about excessive presidential power, limited benefits from the country’s natural resources, frequent policy disruptions by successive governments, and the high cost of politics, which limits participation by youth, women, and the middle class. Citizens also called for greater cross-party consensus on national development priorities.
“One recurring grievance or complaint they are finding is that,Ghanaians believe the president has too much power. But sometimes when you ask them exactly where in the constitution that is,they can’t tell you, but that’s how they feel. That’s how they experience it,’’ he added.
The CRC’s findings also revealed that stakeholders were concerned about not receiving sufficient benefits from the country’s natural resources, particularly oil and gas, while frequent policy changes by successive governments continue to disrupt long-term development plans.
“This sentiment that was expressed by a number of elite stakeholders, that Ghana needs to get more from our natural resource endowments,that the country and its people are not benefiting from our natural resources,’’ he emphasised.
Prof. Prempeh also noted that Ghanaians are generally dissatisfied with the discontinuation of projects whenever a new government assumes office. He added that some participants criticized the high cost of politics, arguing that it restricts political participation for young people, women, and middle-class citizens.
“Ghanaians also expressed frustration with the disruptions in policies, programmes and projects and for that matter, in development priorities and goals that occur whenever power changes from one government or party to the other,” he added.
Acting Dean of the School of Communication at Wisconsin International University College, Baaba Cofie, stated that the public lecture on the 2025 review of Ghana’s Constitution was organized to help students and communication professionals understand the findings of the Constitutional Review Committee and to effectively promote civic education on the review of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana
“This programme is supposed to help our students understand the outcomes, the findings, and then the way forward from the Constitutional Review Committee. We believe that as communications people, whether it’s journalists or other communicators it is important that we ourselves understand so that we can communicate it,’’ she stated
Students of the Law Faculty lauded the work of the Constitution Review Committee, saying its engagement programmes enhanced the understanding of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana and its comparison with previous constitutions. They described the session as enlightening and urged the team led by Prof. Kwasi Prempeh to replicate the programme in other universities to help students better connect theory with practice.
“I had a deep insight into the work of the CRC and basically i have learned a lot in terms of the longevity of the constitution .One thing I want to recommend about this particular programme is that I wish it is replicated in every law faculty across Ghana.The programme was very enlightening, and I think that as a student, it actually gave me the opportunity to be able to practically see what we are learning,especially when it comes to constitutional law, commercial law, so many aspects of the law,’’ they emphasised.
Private Legal practitioner and lecturer at the Law Faculty of Wisconsin International University College Dr John Baiden, called for greater attention to economic issues in the constitutional reform process. Dr. Baiden expressed concern that the Committee’s findings placed limited emphasis on critical economic challenges, including currency stability, taxation, debt management, and support for small businesses.
Dr. Baiden noted that the disconnect between governance and citizens often revolves around economic conditions. Despite these concerns, he commended the Committee’s work, emphasizing that constitutional reform should strengthen institutions, enhance democratic accountability, and ensure the governance framework effectively serves the people.
“The disconnect between the Constitution and the people’s feeling is economics. And that really should be our focus. I was also concerned about taxation. It looks like in this country, we are overly taxed. Even at our ports, try to bring something in, and you go through about 30 tax gates. These are issues that are affecting our survival and our future,” he noted.
Chairman of the Constitution Review Committee, Prof Kwasi Prempeh, dismissed claims that the Committee’s recommendations overlooked economic issues. He explained that the report includes proposals on fiscal discipline, budgeting, taxation, internally generated funds, natural resource governance, and development planning. Prof. Prempeh emphasized that while the Constitution sets the governance framework, detailed economic policies are the responsibility of elected governments.
“When you look at the document, I mean, even the title, from electoral democracy to developmental democracy, there’s a lot of stuff on the economy. There’s a whole chapter on finance; we have lots of recommendations on budgets. Once the full report comes out, he’ll see it,” he added.
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