A former President of Ghana, John Agyekum Kufuor, has said a five-year Presidential tenure is ideal for a developing country like Ghana.
According to him, the Prime Minister system was the best option for making laws.
The former President made these remarks during a Constitutional Review forum held on Monday in Accra.
He noted, “Ghana as a nation is striving to bring transformation to its democratic credential for the better.”
According to him, the 1992 Constitution since its establishment has served the people well but has become necessary against the backdrop of perceived challenges of some provisions of the Constitution that are believed to be obstructive to the maturation of Ghana’s democracy.
“From colonialization to independence, we don’t take into consideration the language the constitution was written and urged the work of compact to consider the cultural background of the citizenry,” he added.
The former President advised political parties, Civil Society Organizations, the Council of States, the Executive, Judiciary and the Legislature to help develop the country, adding that, “Democracy should not be operated from fear and rather should be free and we need an advisory group.”
He asserted that increasing the salary of public servants and other government officeholders would reduce corruption.
“Corruption will reduce if the government increases the salary of public servants and any other government office holders,” he stated.
On his part, the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, said the issue of monetization in Ghanaian politics needs to be re-looked at in order not to elect incompetent leaders which can be detrimental to deepening the democratic system in Ghana.
According to him, the 1992 Constitution of Ghana has devolved huge power to the President of the Republic to appoint numerous people to various institutions and this should be reviewed.
He advocated that “Ghana must adopt the Westminster system and reduce the number of ministries, adding that the criteria for electing Presidential Candidates should be scrutinized.”
He further stated that the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) should be structured well to work effectively and efficiently.
Mr Mensah-Bonsu reiterated that the qualification of the Judiciary to the highest court in the land must be unsympathetically examined and that the composition of the Electoral Commission (EC) should be a national concern.
The Minister urged the Auditor General to take into consideration the issue of the Assets Declaration.
The Constitutional Review Forum was organized by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs in collaboration with the Ghana Compact.
Patience Anaadem, ISD
