Depoliticising key institutions was a core aim of the Constitutional Review Committee – Justice Abdulai

A private legal practitioner, Justice Abdulai, has defended the work of the Constitutional Review Committee, arguing that its proposals—particularly those concerning independent constitutional bodies—must be assessed within the broader objectives of the reform process.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Top Story on Wednesday, March 4, he acknowledged that concerns raised by the Civil and Local Government Staff Association, Ghana (CLOGSAG) in rejecting the CRC proposal to grant Independence to Controller and Accountant-General’s Department are legitimate and should not be dismissed as mere criticism.

However, he expressed difficulty with what he described as an apparent attempt to fault the Committee solely for not explicitly stating a specific problem with certain constitutional provisions.

According to him, a careful reading of the Committee’s report, chaired by Professor H. Kwasi Prempeh, makes it clear that the overarching goal of the reforms was to strengthen independent constitutional and administrative bodies.

He explained that the central objectives of the proposed reforms include: depoliticising key state institutions, reducing executive influence in appointments and operational control, ensuring that independent bodies are truly “fit for purpose”, promoting merit-based appointments rather than political alignment.

Justice Abdulai noted that these guiding principles underpin recommendations affecting institutions such as the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department and other constitutional bodies.

He further highlighted that the review process involved broad stakeholder consultations, open-door engagements, and opportunities for memoranda submissions over several months.

Given this extensive participatory process, he argued that it would be unfair to dismiss specific recommendations without considering the broader reform agenda that informed them.

“In the end,” he suggested, “the report must be judged politically and practically—whether it achieves the purpose

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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.