NO!!! I Don’t Think Ghana Needs A New Constitution – Kwabena Agyapong

A Former General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Kwabena Agyapong has said he does not think Ghana needs a new Constitution.

Some Ghanaians including members of the  Economic Fighters League , have said the current constitution of Ghana is to blame for what they describe as, rot, suffering and ill-governance being experienced in the country, which according to them, gives life to retrogression and discrimination.

In a statement to mark Constitution Day, the Fighters said the 1992 Constitution was deliberately drafted, gazetted and adopted just to benefit a few elites.

The Fighters have been at the forefront of the demand for a new constitution saying the current one has put Ghanaians through 30 years of retrogressive governance, constitutional dictatorship, poverty and underdevelopment.

To buttress their demands, the Fighters said every constitution must be the foundation upon which freedoms are built which they say is unfortunately missing in Ghana’s constitution.

But asked whether Ghana needs a new constitution while speaking on the GhOne television on Thursday May 5, he said “No, I don’t think so.”

Recently, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo  said if required, the 1992 Constitution should be amended to meet the needs of contemporary and future times.

He said this in his address on the 30th anniversary of the 1992 Constitution on Thursday April 28.

“The Constitution is a living document and so whenever circumstances require, we should be prepared to make the necessary amendments to affect the needs of contemporary and future times,” he said.

Mr Akufo-Addo further said that there are persons who seek to cut short the democracy of Ghana by pronouncing coups.

He said such persons either do not respect the Ghanaian people or fear that they will be rejected in an election hence calling for overthrow of an elected government.

Mr Akufo-Addo urged all Ghanians to reject such persons.

“Several attempts to take Ghana down the path of multiparty democracy was met with stiff opposition and cynical response.

“They will rather have authoritarian rule foisted on the citizens claiming Ghana was underdeveloped and we needed to get things done in a hurry. They claimed that democracy was cumbersome and will divide Ghanaians along along tribal lines . However, the word was widespread and unanimous to have a decade-long ban on party political activities imposed in 1981 lifted and the return to multiparty democracy established. The Ghanaian people wanted a living condition of freedom where there was respect for individual liberty,” he said.

He added “Simply because they have no respect for the Ghanaian people , they are either unwilling to subject themselves to the open scrutiny of the Ghanaian people or because they know that that they will be rejected by the Ghanaian people. Thus seeking a short cut to office in power. Let us resist such persons for our common good.”